Paradise Lost
by Abel Sephaos
Summary: Waking up alone in a world that didn't know his name or past, Akira Kurusu didn't want to keep going after his steep fall from grace. Forgotten, defeated and without either comrades or confidants, the former Joker must come to grips with his failures while establishing himself once more. Getting drawn into the supernatural again, though? Count him out, he has a business to run.
1. The Fall of the Fool

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **1,**_ _ **The**_ _ **Fall of the Fool**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _This story contains spoilers for Persona 5. If you haven't beaten the game or reached the 11th boss, at the least, I'd recommend not reading any further. If you don't care or have beaten the game, you may proceed as you please._

 _While I am unsure if posting this on FF is even a good idea any more, I don't want to wait another two weeks before getting this story out there for folks to enjoy. If you are reading this, know that Exalted, Struggle and Strife and Tigerlily will all continue on, mostly._

 _Exalted will be completed, as far as the first arc goes, though I doubt I will be working on either part 2 or 3 for a long, long time._

 _If not for the wonderful reviews you all left me upon my departure, I wouldn't have come back to writing, let alone consider posting this. I feel stupid, writing after convincing myself to quit, but I am willing to swallow my pride and continue working on a few ideas so long as I have people who wish to read my stories._

 _So here you go, folks, I hope this will eventually become as enjoyed as my Magnum Opus._

 _Waking up alone in a world that didn't know his name or past, Akira Kurusu didn't know how to keep going after his steep fall from grace. Forgotten, defeated and without either comrades or confidants, the fifth Fool must come to grips with his failures while carving out a place for himself once more. It's a crying shame this version of Humanity disliked him even more than the last._

 **[PL]**

Akira took a deep breath as he stared at the massive tower rising from the depths of Mementos, surrounded by a wave a spiraling, crimson dust. Massive veins rose from around the tower and through the center, each stretched taught and pumping what appeared to be blood from the central point of the tower.

The feelings of dread and hopelessness grew stronger the closer the group of teenagers walked to the massive tower, causing their hearts to pound in their throats as their nervousness skyrocketed.

Coming to a halt before the edge of the long pathway leading to their final destination, the leader of the group of rebellious teenagers couldn't help but stare downwards at the massive rib-cage like set of stairs that would lead them into the strange temple.

While he could certainly admire avant garde artwork, such as the pieces created by his friend Yusuke, something about Mementos was just too disgusting and twisted for Akira to find any sort of beauty within its depths. Everything was either mechanical, demonic or even organic in nature, with structures created with materials that shouldn't, and couldn't, exist within the real world.

Far past the Path of Iweleth, the Phantom Thieves had fought their way through the depths, dealing with powerful enemies, imprisoned souls and mind-numbing puzzles alike until they reached their final destination. Akira couldn't help but feel a bit sad, knowing that this was the final time the Phantom Thieves would be needed before their jobs were officially done.

Here soon, he would be nothing more than just a normal kid in a normal world with normal friends, living a dull, normal life with a dull, normal job. The thought of having to go back to being a nobody, a nameless face in the crowd made his stomach clench in the most unpleasant way possible, though he knew that it was a needed sacrifice.

Glancing over his shoulder, Akira made eye contact with his comrades one final time, judging their reactions to the strange, temple-like structure that contained the Treasure of Everyone's Hearts.

"The hell is this?!" Ryuji shouted in shock, taking a singular step backwards as he reached up to remove his skull mask. Rubbing his eyes with his sleeves, the former track star couldn't seem to force his jaw to snap shut as he continued to stare at the massive tower before them in disgust, "Holy shit, dude, this... is this place Hell?"

"No, but it may as well be... It's so big! I can't believe there is something like this all the way down here..." Makoto trailed off as she took a step forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Akira, "Do... do you think this is it?"

"Yeah, that should be the case," Morgana placed his small arms against his waist as he waddled to stand behind Akira, a fierce look on his otherwise adorable face, "This has to be it."

"How ominous... it could almost be likened to a temple of sorts..." Yusuke spoke lowly, an uneasy expression crossing his fox masked face as he continued to stare, "I can't even find inspiration in this, it's so grotesque."

"There's no damn point in freakin' out now! C'mon, let's go!" Ryuji decided he was sick and tired of waiting, stepping forward to swipe his hand through the air before clenching said fist tightly, "We're gonna snatch that treasure and get home before dinner!"

"Calm down, Ryuji," Morgana attempted to calm down the fiery pirate themed member of the Phantom Thieves, only for his words to fall on deaf ears as Ryuji bolted down the strange set of stairs leading to the temple, "Good grief, I swear he has attention deficit disorder."

"I think you might be onto something, Mona," Makoto giggled lightly at the exasperation of the cat-boy, "Either way, Ryuji is right. Let's go steal that Treasure!"

"You know it, Queen." Ann took a step forward to walk beside Makoto and Haru while Yusuke, Morgana, Akira and Ryuji took the lead, "So, what do you think the Treasure is going to look like?"

"Something as twisted as the rest of this place, most likely," Akira spoke up from his spot near the front of the group, "I can't be sure, though. What do you think, Mona?"

"...I don't know," The sad expression that crossed the face of the humanoid cat was strangely out of place for the situation they found themselves in, "I can only guess until we actually get there. This is different than the rest of the Treasures we've stolen."

"I guess we'll find out," Akira assured his smaller friend while reaching out to place a crimson gloved palm atop his head, "Don't worry, we got this."

"Yeah, I guess so," Morgana trailed off, the uneasy feeling crushing down on his body only growing stronger the closer the Phantom Thieves got to the massive shrine, "I... I don't know, I just can't shake this feeling."

"We have your back, Mona," Ann sped up her gait to come to walk beside the smaller being, "Thick through thin."

"Thanks... you're the best, Ann!"

Akira didn't say it, but Morgana wasn't the only one with the sickening feeling of dread forming a bottomless pit in his stomach.

 **[PL]**

Entering through the strange, escalating gap in the shrines walls, Akira was the first to walk towards the edge. As he stared into the depths, he could make out what appeared to be a massive cauldron with pulsating, crimson veins hanging from the ceiling and into the device. Around either side of the massive, veined machine, two hands of stone were carved and placed.

Lining the walls around the entire shrine were prison cells, filled with victims that had grown to love being entrapped within the structure known as Mementos.

"Is that the bottom?" Ryuji leaned over the edge slightly to get a better look, his face set into a firm, yet tense scowl, "This place really puts me on edge."

"Yeah, me too," Morgana replied almost sadly as he continued to glance around, "This has to be it, let's go."

"Yeah, let's." Akira was the first to take the leap unto the next level, leaving the people in the cages where they sat. He knew it would just be the same type of rhetoric, should he try to speak with them.

 _'Please... Save us all... Make all our dreams reality...'_

 _'It will grant all our wishes... We'll be free from everything...'_

 _'Just give me what I want... Just end it all...'_

 _'My wish is actually going to come true... I can finally... Be happy...'_

Their voices, so listless and hollow, followed them as they passed. It was the same for every being they had come across, including those whose Hearts had been stolen prior to their incursion into Mementos.

Haru was the most visibly bothered, being the most affectionate member of their entourage by far. It hurt her to hear the apathy in their voices, or their desires to be enslaved and thrown into a cell. None of it made sense to her, nor any other member of their merry band of thieves.

No one attempted to comfort her as they descended, because despite their stony faces, they felt the same. That was the meaning behind their presence so far into the Palace created by the Will of the People.

It was hard to comprehend just how disgustingly twisted everything was the further they traveled into the physical representation of the mental state of the people.

Level by level, the group descended until they came to the ground floor. Despite how ornate the massive chamber appeared, it was far more eerie than grand due to the prison cells lining every section of the spire.

"The hell am I looking at?!" Ryuji was as eloquent as always as he squatted forward to get a better look, unable to comprehend just how large and complicated the mechanical looking chalice in the center of the room really was.

"What is that thing, Joker?" Came the voice of Futaba from just beyond their range of sight, having been watching their backs from the entrance through her own means, "I can't understand what this thing is trying to tell me!"

"I don't know, Futaba, but I want to deface it before we leave, if this isn't our last stop." Akira admitted, disliking how grand the disgustingly complex chalice was. The pulsating veins ending inside of the bowl of the chalice made for a disgusting image, and Akira wasn't sure any amount of brain bleach would ever remove this scenery from his memory.

"Whatever it is, it's disgustingly grand..." Ann trailed off while taking an involuntary step back away from the monstrosity in the center of the room, the feeling of dread around it being almost too much to bear, "Is... is this what we're here for, Mona?"

"Yeah..." Morgana shook his head to clear away whatever was plaguing his mind, his eyes opening with determination, "There's no mistaking this presence. If we get rid of this thing, the public will come to its senses!"

"Something that large will be impossible to carry out of here ourselves..." Yusuke lamented in his usual fashion, easily one of the most emotional people that Akira had even encountered in his life, "What do you propose we do?"

Ryuji stepped forward with a large smile on his face, seemingly ready for war with the way Megido Fire was held in his hands. "We just gotta make it disappear, right? If we can't move it, we _destroy_ it!"

"Of course you would suggest that." Ann rolled her eyes while resting her weight on one leg, "I don't see any other way, though."

"Yeah, that will work..." Morgana nodded his head firmly, seemingly intent in the same thing Akira and Ryuji had settled their minds upon.

"But... if we destroy that thing, won't the entire Metaverse collapse or something?" Ann was not exactly keen on trying to destroy the massive structure if it would destroy the parallel dimension they were dwelling upon at the moment, "Do you think we would have enough time to get out of this place?"

As Ann spoke, the sound of an ominous, blaring siren that sounded suspiciously like chanting choirs erupted from far above, echoing downwards and reverberating within their minds.

The voice of Futaba once more cracked into existence as she forced her way into the network of the Metaverse to impose her will around her party. "It's no surprise that we've been discovered, so there's no need for me to state the obvious here. That thing isn't going to sit back and let itself get destroyed."

Yusuke span around slowly, peering through the cages around him as the inmates within the cells began to try and rise from their seated positions. The veins that had pierced the necks of those trapped within the cells began to pulsate with a glowing, eerie yellow light, moving away from the cellmates and towards the massive chalice the Phantom Thieves stood before.

"The inmates are even starting to liven up... How eerie, are they planning something?" The fox masked thief questioned, one hand resting upon his sheathed katana while the other held his assault rifle at the ready, "Let's not get caught flat footed here."

The sirens continued to blare and only seemed to grow louder and louder as the light shining through the massive hole in the tower bled an angry crimson, bathing the occupants of the massive temple structure in its glow.

"That must mean this things the Treasure, they just saved us the trouble of checkin'." Ryuji was rearing to get the whole ordeal over with, putting on a face of strength to hide just how unnerved he was by the entire situation.

"Hold on, something's off..." Makoto spoke loudly to get her friends attentions over the blaring speakers and chanting voices, "Shido said that the masses were allowing themselves to be held captive here... could they really be operating this entire system that eliminates intruders all on its own?"

"The prison guards and soldiers were very organized, too..." Makoto couldn't think of the words to finish what she was saying, allowing her sentence to die on her lips.

"Are you trying to say that someone else rules this place?" Yusuke turned his attention away from the grotesque chalice that took up a large portion of the room and towards his teammate, "Is it not the public?"

An ominous laughter rang out, easily heard above their voices and those of the crowds of inmates, cutting them off from further speculation. It continued for all of a few seconds before disappearing, falling silent once more.

"This is it," Akira shouted to his teammates, "No holding back, we're going to free those people whether they like it or not!"

"Right!" Haru was quick to agree with her leader, feeling that the best course of action was to use violence. She liked it when the best course of action was violence and this time was no different.

The group quickly scattered from their positions, slowly circling the massive chalice while preparing their melee weapons and ranged weapons alike. Haru was the first to start, firing a round from her grenade launcher, causing an explosion to slam into the structure before them.

It did nothing but scuff the surface, not even chipping the material it was crafted from. The feather-like appendages that curled around one another beneath the metal bands surrounding the chalice bound tighter, preparing for an attack. The massive jewel in the center of the metal band glowed white before firing a blast of light towards Haru in response, which she dodged just in the nick of time.

"Good shot, Noir," Akira called out while pulling his own firearm from his inner coat, firing three shots at the jewel in response, "Can we get another?"

"Coming right up, Joker!" Haru had certainly cheered up upon entering combat, blasting the jewel targeted by Joker with another explosion, "Ah, how therapeutic."

Ignoring the battle-lust that their fluffy haired teammate seemed to fall into, Ryuji and Ann were side by side as they unleashed their own spray of bullets as they circled wide around the chalice. The buckshot rounds used by Ryuji were known to shred most beings they ended up fighting within a few rounds, but the strange Treasure they fought ate them like they were nothing. Ann had the same problem with the weaker rounds her Chicago Typewriter used, not dealing enough damage to be noticeable.

"This isn't working, hit it harder!" Akira called out as he put his firearm away before reaching deep within the pool of energy hiding within his body, "Come, Kaguya!"

Behind him, a semi-mechanical woman formed from blue flames, becoming something more than a phantasm as she drew upon his internal strength. A set of ornate robes covered her lithe frame, while a trailing set of sleeves hovered around her body while being connected to her headdress. Her hands fit through large holes in the sleeves with slender fingers meant for finer things in life than combat.

From her fingertips, glistening blades of light were flung, piercing the central portion of the chalice deeply. After firing off her attack, Kaguya faded once more, leaving Akira to dodge to the left of the counterattack of the Treasure.

"This is pretty crazy looking on my end, guys, how are you holding up?" Futaba's voice crackled into existence, dripping with worry so thick they could feel it from where they fought, "Everyone doing okay?"

"Yeah, so far so good," Ryuji was the one to answer her as he drew his large staff, Ruyi Jingu Bang, backwards before slamming it into the base of the Treasure, "This thing is made of damn strong stuff, jeez!"

"Just keep it up!" Akira shouted as he once more called upon Kaguya, allowing her ethereal body to manifest into reality behind him. Her shining arrows of light were once more flung from her fingertips, piercing the chalice in the same spot Akira kept targeting while chipping the white jewel severely, "Finally!"

 _'No, take my strength...'_

 _'Not... don't touch my Holy Grail!'_

 _'That's right, the Holy Grail shall never perish!'_

The voices of the inmates grew louder and louder, chanting their discontent with the treatment of their Treasure. A low, moaning voice was heard over the din of their voices, drawing the attention of Akira back towards his opponent and not those he was trying to save from themselves.

Golden light began to travel down the grotesque veins pooling into the chalice, flooding their sights with light as all of the damage incurred by their opponent was healed instantly by overwhelming healing spells.

"No way... what the heck?!" Futaba was more upset with their opponent healing than the rest expressed, though the sentiment was silently shared, "What was that?!"

 _'What are you doing to our Holy Grail?!'_

"Don't tell me... are the inmates giving it their strength?!" Futaba seemed to figure out just how their opponent had healed, "That.. That's cheating!"

"Damnit! This is never gonna end!" Ryuji seemed tired of wacking away at the mighty Treasure, his arms having finally given out after a good five minutes of constant swinging.

"It seems hopeless if there are this many inmates supporting it..." Yusuke was quick to point out, sheathing his blade and straightening his stance to conserve his energy, "How bleak."

" **You fools. Human, yet wishing to eradicate the desires of Humanity. Repent."**

"What was that?!" Ann was the first to speak after the booming voice echoed out, taking over the chamber completely with it's sound, "No way!"

"The Treasures talking?" Makoto was incredulous, aiming her revolver at the massive construction representing Humanities Heart, "How?!"

" **I am revered as the Granter of Dreams for all who behold me. This Prison of Regression, _my_ prison, is representative of the collective desires of Humanity."**

The voice once more spoke, drowning out the noise created by the riled up inmates as they slammed into their bars violently.

Akira couldn't help but take a step away from the massive structure, the ominous feeling that settled upon his shoulders upon reaching the depths of Mementos only growing stronger.

" **They _wish_ to be chained down, to surrender their cognition and neglect the world around them... These feeble minded commonfolk with make your so called ' _social reform_ ' all for naught."**

The Phantom Thieves all gathered behind Akira as he took a step forward while swiping his hand through the air.

"Be silent! They have lost their way, but we can show them how to live for their selves again! Release them!" Akira shouted, his voice carrying over the din just as easily as the godlike voice that emanated from the Holy Grail.

" **The shared heart of the masses has fallen into an excess of indolence and thus, transformed into what you see before you. Thus, the only suitable option is to allow them to perish in this prison they have created for themselves!"**

"Get ready, here it comes again!" Morgana shouted while calling upon the abilities of his Persona, Mercurius, "Garudyne!"

A pillar of wind began to churn around the chalice, cutting miniscule grooves into the surface of the now glistening, golden Holy Grail. It was not enough to make a noticeable dent, but they could all feel the presence diminish ever so slightly.

Akira dashed to the side of his feline partner and shoved him out of the way of a blast of light that he almost didn't notice, too busy celebrating a good hit on his opponent. "Pay attention, Mona!"

"Sorry, Joker," Morgana sounded displeased, but it was to be expected after being admonished, "I'll keep a better eye out, thanks."

A tree began to sprout from beneath the chalice, curling around the chains attached to the bottom before shattering, courtesy of a magic spell by Yusuke. Ann quickly followed it up, calling upon her Persona, Hecate, before blasting the Holy Grail with a surge of fire by using an Agidyne spell.

The rapid attacks accumulated quickly and soon, the Holy Grail was forced to heal once more.

"It healed _again_?!" Futaba growled, her voice as static-filled as always from the confines of her Persona, "Darn it... try this out for size!"

Hacking through the network of the Metaverse, Futaba was able to increase the strength, defense and agility of her teammates using her ultra charge skill, allowing them to attack harder than before.

"Thanks, Futaba," Akira called out as he once more called upon Kaguya to stab the Holy Grail with her light arrows, "We wouldn't be able to do this without you."

"Aww, stop, you're making me blush," Futaba drawled without missing a beat, having grown used to Akira and his way of keeping morale, "Just keep trying to crush this oversized sippie cup so we can get this over with!"

"Yes ma'am!" Ryuji grinned as he called upon Son Goku before the two were barreling towards the Holy Grail, each smacking the massive chalice with their staves as hard as they could.

After a few more minutes of fighting and dodging around beams of light, the Holy Grail healed itself for the final time.

"This is quickly getting old." Yusuke seemed to be losing his patience, if the strange grin on his face was to go by, "I say we go for one last all out attack."

"Oh, man, Inari is getting his panties in a bunch," Futaba called out, already knowing that Yusuke was a better fighter when mad, "We better watch out!"

Their banter was cut short as once more, the crowds of inmates began to chant, this time louder than ever before.

 _'Get out of here. Get out of here. Get out of here. Get out of here. Get out of here. Get out of here. Get out of here.'_

The droning chanting continued on and on with what sounded like hundreds of voices chiming in.

"If this is how the people really feel, we'll never be able to steal their Hearts..." Morgana lamented lowly, glancing downwards as he tried to ignore the chanting voices, "Did we come all this way... for nothing?"

"This is horrible..." Haru brought a hand to her mouth to stifle the sound of her sorrow, knowing that they continued to fight a losing battle, "What do we do?"

" **You imbeciles, drunk on your perverted, so called 'Justice', _this_ is the will of the Children of Man who have fallen into spiritual decay. My lustrous shine is proof of their worship of my image, and as long as Humanity yearns for _me_ , I shall never perish."**

"Is this what everyone really wants?!" Makoto shouted while rising her head to stare upwards at the inmates around her, "To give up control so badly that they would throw away _everything_ we have done, all to stop thinking for themselves?!"

"We all know we can't accept that," Akira called out while jabbing a finger towards the Holy Grail, "To do so now, after _everything we've done_ , would be spitting on the graves of those we've lost. We promised a change, and I'll be damned if we can't deliver."

The Phantom Thieves knew he wasn't just speaking of their failure to prevent the death of Kunikazu Okumura, but the very man who caused the death of their target in the first place.

"I know... I'm just so _frustrated_ I feel like I'm going to cry..." Makoto trailed off as she continued to glance around the room, the feeling of hopelessness only growing as the chanting grew louder.

"The humans I look up to aren't like that!" Morgana shouted, drawing attention back to himself as he tried to lift the spirits of his squad, "No matter how painful reality is, it's only over if you don't try and change how things are! You taught me that, Akira, and it's a lesson that I'll take with me everywhere I go!"

The noises of agreement made by his team allowed Morgana to continue, stopping even the Holy Grail from speaking until he was done.

"We don't want to turn back into the people we used to be," Morgana waddled forward to stand toe to toe with Akira in staring upwards at the Holy Grail in defiance, "That's why we risked our lives coming here!"

"Mona..." Haru came to stand beside Morgana while placing a hand upon his masked head, drawing his attention towards the fluffy haired axe wielder before he gave her a pleased smile, "You've always had a way with words."

"He's right!" Ann piped up as she and Ryuji stepped forward as well, "We've come to far to just give up now!"

" **Humanities desires have already started to actualize, I am merely the focal point for their distortions to bleed into the Real World. Now, behold as I take my place as God of the World and encroach upon Reality itself!"**

A massive, blue aura of strength began to flow outwards from the towering, golden chalice, causing the ground beneath them to rumble strongly. The tower around them, too, began to shake and sway under the intense wave of pressure pressing outwards against the prison cells.

"What a load of shit!" Ryuji reached out and grabbed ahold of Ann before spinning his back to the Holy Grail, preventing his childhood friend from being buffered by the forces of gravity baring sideways upon them, "Gah!"

"Ryuji!" Ann shouted in worry, watching as quite a few stones of stray rubble from the fighting impacted his back, "Are you alright?!"

"This is nothin', don't worry about me," Ryuji gave her a weak grin, though the wince on his face did little to ease her worries, "Mind patching me up?"

"Of course not, you idiot..." Ann whispered under her breath as a glowing, green light washed over his body thanks to a Media spell cast by the blond whip wielder, "There, that should do it."

The gears on the face of the Holy Grail began to spin around the structure faster on their tracks while swirling, white energy bled from the ground and added to the glowing, blue aura around it. The pressure once more increased as the Phantom Thieves were pushed back further and further from the strange increase in strength of their opponent.

"I don't know _what_ you are, but you can't keep arbitrarily deciding things on your own," Morgana grit his teeth and attempted to move forward against the pressure, once more grabbing onto the coat tail of Akira as if flapped before him, "The humans I know aren't as stupid as you make them out to be!"

" **Hmph. Indolent, foolish Humans... You shall offer your Hearts to me."**

A beam of light tore from the center of the glistening Holy Grail and traced along the ground before them. Everything faded to white for Akira as he heard the pained cries of his teammates fill his ears.

 **[PL]**

Akira was the first to rise to his feet as he looked around, able to make out the world a bit quicker than his fellow thieves. The sounds of civilians passing by alerted him to the fact that they were no longer within the depths of Mementos.

'What the hell?' Akira questioned himself for what seemed like the thousandth time that day, taking in the forms of his kneeling team, 'What happened, did we... did we lose?'

"Is everyone okay...?" Ann rose from her rather lewd position on the ground, scowling in Ryuji's direction as he seemed to mewl in discontent of her rising from his laying body, "Well, at least _this_ pervert is fine."

"Pfft, you're the one who fell onto _me!"_ Ryuji defended hotly as he rose and got a better look around, "Holy shit, how'd we end up back in Shibuya?"

"Wait, why are our clothes back to normal?" Futaba gasped as she took in her form, realizing that no one was sporting their usual thief gear when diving into the Metaverse, "No way..."

"The Holy Grail must have driven us out," Morgana meowed in discontent, having been reverted to his usual feline form when dwelling within the Real World, "We didn't come back ourselves."

"Did... we lose?" Makoto turned her weary gaze towards Akira, as if he would have the answers she was looking for. It took him a moment to reply, but he eventually reasoned out what happened.

"We can't give up," Akira began, making sure that each member of the Phantom Thieves was listening before continuing, "We must gather our strength and prepare a second attack."

Makoto looked as if she wanted to retort, but was promptly cut off by a sudden rain falling from the sky.

"Huh...?" Futaba intoned as she held out her hand and leaned over to get a better look, finding that the sky wasn't raining water, but a pinkish red slime. "What the..."

Any other words were cut off as a puddle of crimson appeared next to her feet, forcing her to leap closer to Yusuke as a large, bone protrusion erupted from the puddle and raced towards the sky, growing thicker and thicker at the base as it rose.

More and more of the grotesque scenery that they had come to attribute to Mementos continued to make its presence known, changing the entire landscape of Tokyo within scant seconds. No longer did the spacious and crowded city feel like a metropolis paradise, but instead a hellish landscape more fitting of Yusuke's demented mind and not reality.

"Mementos, here in Shibuya?" Makoto couldn't believe her eyes, speaking her thoughts aloud without even realizing it, "Is _this_ what it meant by encroaching on reality?!"

Morgana leaped from the ground and onto the shoulder of Akira before using him as a springboard, finally landing upon the large retaining wall behind them to get a better look around. "To think _this_ would happen..."

"No way man, you've gotta' be shitting me..." Ryuji was as eloquent as always in his denial, taking an involuntary step back before colliding with Ann's shoulder, "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

 _'Man, what great weather... want to go for a drive?'_

 _'Hello? Yes, it's about tomorrows preliminary meetings.'_

 _'The announcement for the new smartphone's tonight! I'm so stoked!'_

 _'What were those Phantom Thieves all about, anyway?'_

 _'Aw, man! Hearing that name brings back memories! I feel so dumb for ever believing those guys existed!'_

 _'It was fun news, though! I doubt anyone still believes they're around anymore.'_

"Why isn't anyone noticing these abnormalities?!" Yusuke was incredulous as he spun on his heels to get a better look at the mulling crowd around them, seemingly ignorant of the heavily modified world they dwelled in, "Are these people _blind_?!"

"It's probably because they don't feel that it's odd..." Makoto winced as she delivered her words, finding nothing more to say that made any sense.

Makoto didn't seem like she wanted to continue, not when her gaze was forced to snap towards Futaba after she collapsed to the ground while holding her head. "Futaba!"

"What's wrong?!" Ryuji quickly knelt to the smaller girls side, his arms curling around her shoulders to prevent her from hitting the ground, "Oh man, you look so pale..."

"Oh... I feel so woozy," Futaba murmured weakly while trying to glance around, "Nrgh!"

Grunting in pain, Futaba grasped her head tightly as Ann attempted to lend her a hand to help her rise, only to collapse to her side as well.

Haru was the next to drop to her knees while clutching her head in pain, her voice whining and closely resembling a wounded animal from how much distress was laced in the noise.

Akira felt as if someone stabbed him in the brain with a few bullets, forcing him to clutch his head in one hand as he dropped to his knees. First, the ache spread from his mind and down his spine, slowly infecting her entire nervous system with flames of angry venom. His heart began to beat in his throat as the pain grew further.

He almost didn't notice as Yusuke and Makoto dropped to their knees lastly, followed by Morgana curling into a small ball before his downed form.

"Is this... by the Holy Grail... too?" Makoto panted out her words, unable to formulate an entire sentence due to the pain, "Are... we going to die?"

Ryuji slammed his good leg into the ground in a stomp while clenching his fist, trying to ignore the spiking pain in his body. "That son of a bitch.. What's this creepy ass shit abou- ah! Ah, my hand!"

He collapsed to the ground after his weight gave out, causing him to groan loudly before attempting to rise once more. Glancing at his hand, Ryuji's face bleached into a pale white as if he had seen a ghost before he let out a terrifying scream of horror.

Akira couldn't believe his eyes.

The hand of his best friend was completely transparent and by the looks of it, his body was slowly starting to fade in the same way.

Ann looked back from her kneeling position, her face slowly becoming the same, ghastly shade of white as the blood rushed from her face. "Ryuji...?"

She was cut off by collapsing under her own weight as her oldest friend had before she turned her attention to her own body.

Akira watched with wide, horrified eyes as one by one, each member of the Phantom Thieves displayed the same symptoms as Ryuji, each slowly fading away as if ash in the wind.

"This... can't be real, right?" Makoto tried to laugh it off, but the horror in her voice belied her true emotions.

"What is happening to us?" Yusuke clasped his right arm around his rapidly fading left arm as if it would help slow the fading. His usual dramatic speeches were drawn short by his horror and pain.

Haru lamented almost violently as she stared at her faded hands, feeling her body breaking away into dust as it flew away from her position in reality.

"Don't... tell me..." Morgana whispered weakly as he attempted to rise, only to collapse unto his stomach once more. Akira reached out and placed a comforting, non-fading hand upon his constant companion as both reassurance and to prevent him from hurting himself further.

The ominous laughter of the Holy Grail rang out through the air, though it seemed only the rapidly fading Phantom Thieves could hear it.

" **Indeed, this is not my doing. You imbeciles are about to disappear completely from the people's cognition. Mementos, and Reality, have become one... Thus, those who disappear from cognition cannot exist _anywhere_."**

"Disappear _my as- AAAAAAAAGH!"_ Ryuji's back arched as he let out his final scream before what appeared to be black flames consumed him completely. As the flames grew, his image vanished entirely at once.

"Ryuji!" Ann screamed in horror, tears in her eyes as she watched her oldest friend disappear before her. Soon, the flames consumed her and she, too, disappeared from the cognition of the people.

"So... this is it...?" Yusuke looked upwards and laughed loudly as he disappeared, having one last laugh at the world that forgot he existed.

Futaba faded next, clutching her head while attempting to wake up from a nightmare. "No, NO-"

"Akira... where did we go wron-" Makoto couldn't even finish her sentence before she, too, faded from reality in a gust of ashes.

Haru was hyperventilating and sobbing at once as her body faded, her eyes wide and filled with tears. Akira kept his eyes locked with hers as she faded, filled with anger, sorrow and defeat. It was only fitting that he be her last sight in the world, with how close the two had become over the previous few months.

Tears spilled from the eyes of Akira as one by one, his friends vanished before him until only he and Morgana remained. Feeling his existence fading away more and more quickly, Akira scooped up the struggling form of Morgana within his hands ad clutched him tightly to his chest.

As he felt the pain in his body increase, so too did his pull on what was once more hiding beneath the surface of his thoughts when in reality. Upon the fusion of Mementos and Reality, it seemed that the limits of his ability to summon Persona and cast spells had been blurred.

Massive, blue flames erupted around his body as Akira struggled to remain alive, pumping his energy into his own body and that of Morgana as he clutched him tighter, more desperately than before.

"Is this all my fault?" Morgana stared into space as he felt his body begin to fail, a tear falling from his eye as he hung his head, "Because I brought you all into this...?"

"It's not your fault!" Akira hysterically whispered as he drew the fading feline upwards slightly to look him in the eyes, "Please... please save your strength!"

"Sorry, Joker... look's like this is a mission we couldn't finish." Morgana whispered weakly beneath his breath as his body nearly finished vanishing all together, "I may be dying, but... I won't let you fade, too!"

"Morgana, wha-" Akira was cut short as the feline within his grasp began to shine brightly, golden light erupting from his form and engulfing the body of Akira as the flames of blue around his feet rose higher.

Throwing his head back and screaming in both defiance and pain, Akira felt his entire frame shake as he was torn apart, piece by piece.

With a swirl of golden light and blue flames, Akira Kurusu, leader of the Phantom Thieves, disappeared completely from the Cognition of the People, and the world knew Ruin.

 **[PL]**

His entire body felt as if he had been flung through a meat grinder when he awoke next. Lurching upwards while clutching at his chest, Akira gulped in as much fresh air as his lungs could handle as he hacked and coughed up globs of pink gelatine.

Rolling over, Akira emptied the contents of his stomach unto the uneven and disgusting ground beneath him, causing him to crinkle his nose in revulsion before blinking back the dense fog that settled over his vision.

Akira tried to rise from the ground, only to collapse onto his knees as his body spurned his desires to stand without remorse. Eventually, Akira returned to his laying position on the ground before rolling onto his back to stare at the sky, his mind foggy and his body lethargic.

He attempted to remember how he came to ache as badly as he did, but each time he felt he was close to remembering, it would escape his reaching grasp and leave him in pained ignorance.

'What… happened?' Akira struggled to push past the fog of his mind, though it proved almost impossible, 'Did… did I get mugged or something?'

Shaking his head, Akira pushed away that theory after a few seconds of scanning his body by moving one limb at a time. Despite how achy he was, there was no immediate wound that would indicate just why he was in the shape he was in.

After a few moments, his memories began to return on their own. He remembered going into the depths of Mementos with his friends and partners on a mission to… to do what?

Akira furrowed his brows as he once more forced his memories to the surface, ignoring the splitting headache that came with pushing himself.

He remembered eventually reaching the lowest point of Mementos, and the shrine that society had built around their treasure, made of nothing but prison cells filled with willing and loving occupants. His eyes widened in shock as he remembered the fight between his group and the Treasure of Everyone's Hearts, the Holy Grail. The awakening after their sound defeat by the unwilling to change public had been bittersweet while the series of events afterwards had been anything but.

Akira felt tears spring up in his eyes once more as he remembered watching each of his friends fade from the minds of those they tried to save so vehemently, erased from existence completely. Glancing down at his hands, the black haired former leader of the Phantom Thieves attempted to rationalize what he saw and what he was feeling inside, but he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried.

Despite all of his comrades fading into dust, here he was, awakening under the afternoon sun once more. If not for the final words of Morgana, Akira would have hoped against hope that he wasn't the only Phantom Thief to regain their form.

No matter how much he attempted to convince himself otherwise, he knew that he was the last one left standing. A gut feeling was all he had to go on, but he never failed to listen to his instincts, no matter how much that he wished they were wrong this time.

A sob escaped his lips, so pained that it tore through the night sky like a knife. Those passing by the alley tensed and glanced into the depths between the two buildings, only to snap their gazes forward once more upon coming to rest upon his laying form.

He wasn't sure how long he laid there, nor did he care. The anguish he felt clutching his stomach and heart were too much for him to bear, causing him to howl harder as the tears continued to fall.

After everything he had done to prove himself to society, they would toss him away so _casually_? They would willingly choose ignorance and a life of slavery over the sweet taste of freedom?

The thoughts swirling through his mind eventually became a blur after what felt like an eternity of tormenting him, allowing his tears to dry and his sobbing to eventually come to a halt. Hiccuping under his breath, Akira removed his large glasses and wiped his eyes with his grungy sleeves, ignoring the feeling of grime grinding into his skin as he took in a shaky breath.

While his friends may have paid the ultimate price for their, _his_ , failure, Akira still lived and breathed. Realizing that it wasn't quite over just yet, the leader of the Phantom Thieves steeled his gaze and readied himself to track down the Holy Grail once more to enact his revenge. If Mementos and Reality had truly become one, then the location of the Grail should have changed from the depths of Mementos to somewhere else in Tokyo.

A fire burned in his stomach as the thought of crushing the massive, golden chalice filled his mind, renewing his energy and filling him with a driving force easily as powerful as the pursuit of justice.

Akira snapped his head to the left to get a better look at his surroundings, having somehow found himself in an alleyway sometime in between his fading from the Cognition of Humanity and his reawakening, wherever he was. Nothing but a dead end filled with trashcans, folded cardboard boxes and rotten refuse filled his vision.

A low groan escaped his lips as he forced his body to roll to the right instead, this time allowing him to be able to look outwards from the alley and beyond.

The sight of passersby caught his attention, much more clear than it had ever been before. If it wasn't for the glaring street light across from the alley, Akira would have almost been convinced it was daytime with how well he could see.

Straining his ears to listen, Akira could make out the words being spoken by the strangers far more clearly than ever before despite their distance, though they spoke exclusively English the entire time he listened.

'Where in Tokyo am I?' Akira questioned almost frantically as he forced his body to stand again, this time ignoring the knives and daggers of pain racing through his nervous system, 'Are they having some weird foreigner convention in Shibuya today?'

Finding the situation more and more eerie as he continued to watch and listen to the strangers passing his alley, Akira staggered and limped his way to the entrance of his current location and poked his head outwards.

He had obviously been unconscious for quite a few hours, as night had fallen and the moon had risen over the cityscape. Akira shivered, though not due to any feeling of cold. Something was very, very wrong.

Looking up at the night sky, Akira could immediately make out three things wrong with what he was seeing.

First, he couldn't make out a single structure tall enough to distinguish his location within Tokyo, and he had become quite adept at navigating the impossibly large and densely populated city. Secondly, there was no longer the looming, skeletal structures forming from the fusion of Mementos and the Physical World.

Last of all, the moon of Earth, Luna, was not shattered, nor usually quite as close as the moon he was looking at seemed to be. Akira didn't know where he was, and that terrified him more than anything else. Wherever it was he had awakened, it was clearly _not_ Tokyo, and with this realization, any sense of energy he gained from thoughts of revenge fell flat.

Akira grasped his head as a spike of pained laced through his brain, weaving agony deeply into his grey matter. His body almost gave out beneath him as he struggled against the agonizing headache, eventually prevailing against whatever ailment had befallen him. Beneath his hands, he could feel something pressing against his fingertips almost uncomfortably, hiding amongst his wild locks almost perfectly, triangular in shape.

The increased sense of touch, hearing and sight only further increased his feeling of sickness, as if his body had been supercharged with no way of coping with the sudden influx of new sensations.

Glancing down at his body, he took in his appearance as if it would provide him answers, only to find his casual outfit resting upon his frame like he wore in the Real World. His pale blue hoodie with an extra large hood rested beneath his black blazer while faded slim fit jeans and cuban heeled boots completed his outfit, just as he wore before he entered Mementos for the final time.

The last item he wore was an unneeded but much loved accessory, his non-prescription glasses that helped hide the intensity of his gaze. Wearing them allowed him to become an unassuming figure in the crowd, usually by tilting his head downwards and hiding the majority of his face with his hood as he had for the past few weeks. It wouldn't do for people to recognize him, not when he was supposed to be 'dead'.

Over his shoulder rested his messenger bag, still filled with illicit goods and thief tools gained from diving into the depths of Mementos time and time again. Akira remembered that he was supposed to make a trip to Iwai to sell off a lot of the valuables, but he doubted he would be able to now if his gut feeling was correct.

"What am I looking at…?" Akira questioned aloud as he stepped out of the alley, glancing to his left and right as he nearly fell forward from the wave of vertigo hitting him once more, "Excuse-, Excuse me, ma'am?"

"Don't speak to me so casually, _freak_. Know your place!" Spat the strangely dressed woman viciously as she increased her pace to put more distance between herself and Akira, causing the black haired teenager to draw his extended hand back towards his chest as if burned.

"Damn it," Akira cursed under his breath as he took a deep breath to push away the anger he felt, closing his eyes briefly before opening them once more and trying again, "Excuse me, sir, please... can someone tell me where I am? My phone isn't working right and I need to find my way back to Shibuya!"

"The fuck is 'Shibuya', pussy-boy? Some kind of new drug you Faunus keep bringing into our good Kingdom?" The gray haired male Akira attempted to stop growled out while shoving both hands into Akira's chest, sending him sprawling into the wall behind him, "Get the hell off my block or I'll cut those ears of yours off and hang 'em on my wall as a trophy!"

Akira gasped loudly as his skull impacted the wall behind him, causing his vision to blur and haze once more while knocking his glasses from his face. Hunching forward while trying to regain his breath, Akira tensed his weakened body and got ready to defend himself, slowly raising his head to glare at the silver haired man that dared put his hands on him.

The silver haired stranger took a step back in fright upon seeing the glowing, crimson eyes ringed with gold that stared back at him from a fringe of ebony hair. "W-what the hell?!"

Akira wanted nothing more than to reach out and punch the foolish man in his throat, but refrained from doing so before slowly leaning down to retrieve his glasses and putting them back on his face. When he glanced up, his eyes were once more a strange, dark shade somewhere between ash gray and coal black, not to mention far less intense.

Getting the message, the silver haired man tucked tail and ran when he had the chance, seeing that the strange, frizzy haired teenager wasn't going to be fighting back.

"Are you alright, Brother? I saw him man-handle you... good on you for not hitting him back," Began a voice from Akira's left, causing the weary teenager to turn and face the newest arrival as quickly as his lethargic body would let him, "I know his type, the moment you hit back he would have called the cops and played the victim."

"I take it that happens a lot around here...?" Akira questioned lowly, not really caring either way but finding it better to ask anyway, "Where is here, anyway? I... think I'm lost?"

"You _think_ you're lost?" The man with black mutton-chops questioned, "You're in Vale, kid, just outside the industrial district, how do you not know that?"

"I... where...?" Akira gasped out the question upon hearing the name of his surroundings, "Vale?"

"Yeah, the Southern Kingdom? One of the only four Kingdoms on Remnant? Just... how hard did you hit your head, kid?" The man was far more concerned now than he was before, going as far as setting down his bags before slowly stepping forward to get a better look at the eyes of the lost teenager.

From the light of the streetlamp behind him, the casually dressed man was able to get a much better look at his eyes than otherwise. "Hmm... your pupils aren't contracting and retracting in time, you might have a minor concussion... Here, you think you'll be alright to follow me? I've got a few pain pills and a bag of ice with your name on them, if you'd like."

"...Yeah, I think I should be good," Akira glanced down at his hands as his mind tried to process the new information provided by the man, not wanting to ask further questions and make himself seem like a lunatic when it became clear he wasn't sure what the man was talking about, "Lead the way... mister...?"

"Tukson," The charcoal haired man with black mutton chops extended his hand for Akira to take without a second thought, "Just Tukson, proud owner of Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun."

"Akira Kurusu..." Akira took the offered hand and winced upon feeling just how tight the mans grip was, "Do you know which direction Shibuya is in?"

From the information provided by Tukson, little as it may have been, it was becoming apparent to Akira that his gut instinct was proving correct, even when he wanted it to be wrong. Names like Vale, Southern Kingdom and Remnant were keywords that alluded to him no longer being on Earth, as did the shattered moon hanging in the sky above him. As things were, having a conversation in his second language on a street he didn't recognize made him more weary than his thoughts of failure already did.

"Shibuya? Is that one of the smaller villages on the outskirts of the Kingdom?" Tukson questioned with a tilt of his head, leaning down to retrieve his bags once more before gesturing with his head for Akira to follow, "Can't say I've ever heard of it, Brother."

"Ah... thanks," Akira murmured lowly while falling into step with the brown haired man, "For stopping and helping, I mean. I have no idea why they..."

Akira allowed his sentence to trail off, the morose look on his face only growing as the reality of his situation seemed to finally start to set in once more.

"Humans hate us here just as badly as they hate us everywhere else," Tukson growled under his breath, not turning to look back at the teenager that fell in step with him, "You might want to put up your hood and hide your ears, at least until we get to where we're going."

"Hide... my ears?" Akira didn't understand the mans line of reasoning, lifting a hand to rest upon his lobes while tugging lightly in concern, "What's wrong with my ears?"

"Nothing, Brother, at all. I know a lot of Faunus don't like hiding their traits, but sometimes it's a bit easier to get around without drawing attention to them." Tukson turned and gave Akira an almost apologetic expression, one mixed with what appeared to be sadness, "I know it's hard swallowing your pride, but blending in is better than sticking out, especially 'round these parts."

Tukson seemed to be glancing at something atop his head, causing Akira to slowly bring a shaky hand passed the ear he was gripping. Upon reaching the top of his head, the former student of Shujin Academy felt something that he only felt when petting Morgana.

Specifically, he felt a pair of triangular ears resting atop his head as well as the set of human ears he was born with in their normal position.

Akira was glad that Tukson was facing forward once more and thus unable to see the horrified expression that crossed his face.

The more Akira saw, the more he was convinced. Call it Vale, Remnant, whatever you will. To Akira, the world around him could have only been Hell, and here, he was alone once more.


	2. Meet you at the End

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **2,**_ _ **Meet you at the End**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _Thank you for the wonderful reviews, my friends. I am glad to see so many people like the idea of a Cat-Boi Akira. I won't lie, I saw a few different pictures that made me question how we didn't get to have Akira go into Mementos wearing 'Becky's' maid dress._

 _Sorry for those waiting on Exalted as well as Struggle and Strife, I promise to work on them faster. I work best when I have inspiration, and this story won't let me focus on anything else until I write my ideas down._

 **[PL]**

Tukson glanced backwards at the teenager slowly walking behind him from the corner of his eyes, doing his best to remain inconspicuous as he took in the ruffled and grimy appearance of the slim being. The bookshop owner didn't know what to think about him, not yet, but he knew one thing for sure.

When he passed the alley Akira was laying in on his way to get groceries, he heard the cries of pain and sorrow loud and clear. It tugged at his heartstrings, to hear a fellow Faunus let loose cries that would have more suited a wounded animal, the raw anguish enough to stop even _him_ in his tracks. Tukson made a vow to himself then and there to stop on his way back to his shop, at least to see if there was anything he could do to help.

If there was one belief that Tukson held in life that he had yet to relinquish, it was that the Faunus should stick together in their time of need, no matter if they were strangers or not.

Being the kind man he was at heart, no matter how much he tried to hide it, Tukson made his way back to the alley he saw the teenager weeping in, only to be surprised upon seeing Akira poking his head out of the alley just as Tukson rounded the corner.

When he attempted to get the attention of the two human passersby, Tukson couldn't stop from wincing upon hearing the teenagers head collide with the wall behind him after being shoved viciously by the silver haired human.

Growling lowly under his breath, Tukson had moved to intercept the man and demand he take a hike, only for the scrawny looking teenager to do something that unnerved the man enough to send him packing without raising a hand in anger. While Tukson wasn't close enough to see what happened, it was clear that the teen was fierce enough to scare off even the hardened gang members that hung around the shadier parts of Vale. That made Tukson a bit more weary, but he still pressed forward.

Now, the two were walking in step with one another back towards the better, less violent side of Vale, a heavy silence settling between the two as Akira's questions came to an end. Tukson wasn't sure what to make of the strange questions, but he answered them to the best of his ability.

'Shibuya, huh? I'd think that was in Mistral, from the name...' Tukson kept his thoughts to himself as he glanced backwards once more, this time making eye contact with the coal eyed teenager. "Are you going to be alright, kid? You look dead on your feet."

"I... don't know." Akira answered back after a few moments of silence, seemingly contemplating his answer heavily before speaking, "I just don't know."

"Yeah, I figured as much." Tukson sighed as he shifted his bags into one arm while reaching into his pocket to remove his keys, "We're here. Follow me, I'll set you up somewhere to rest while I go get those pills and ice-pack."

"Thank you," Akira spoke softly as he glanced around the darkened shop, following Tukson into the building without bothering to stop and think about it, "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't..."

Akira couldn't seem to finish his sentence as he let out a deep sigh, the pain in his voice as evident as it had been previously.

Tukson didn't respond verbally, merely nodding his head as he set the bags down on his counter before making his way to the back. Akira fell into step with him once more before taking the offered seat when Tukson gestured towards the plush furniture.

Taking his bag from around his shoulders and setting it onto the ground before him, Akira fought the urge to begin sobbing once more upon seeing the charms hanging from the side of his bag. Seeing reminders of his failure, especially so soon after awakening in a world that wasn't his own, only brought further pain to his heart and mind.

It was too much for Akira to handle so soon, nearly making him collapse forward if not for the steadying hand that Tukson placed upon his shoulder. "Easy there, kid... It's going to be alright."

The words were whispered, but Akira heard them as if they were spoken through a loud speaker. Glancing upwards at the amber eyed man, he couldn't help but compare him to Iwai in some ways. It was obvious from the way Tukson carried himself that he had combat experience, something Akira had learned to discern from spending so much time with Makoto while she practiced her techniques.

His shoulders remained tense and from the way his hands clenched and unclenched when he glanced around, it was obvious that Tukson was worried about an ambush, for one reason or another.

It was the kindness that hid beneath his gruff exterior that eventually made Akira agree to follow the man. While his hunched shoulders and tense legs might have belied his paranoia, it was the soft gaze filled with worry that sealed the deal for him, so to speak.

"I don't think it will be," Akira eventually admitted as he took the offered bag of ice and two pills before dry swallowing them at once, "Maybe... maybe someday it will be, but not now."

"That kind of pain takes time to fade." Tukson crossed his arms and took a step back before taking a seat across from the teenager, "I won't ask you to talk about it, but I _will_ ask that you try and get some rest. Feel free to use the cot in the room next to you, Brothers know its gone to waste the entire time I've owned this place."

"Why are you helping me?" Akira questioned after tilting his head to the right, trying his best to understand the kindness of Tukson and failing, "Do you help every stranger you come across?"

"No, not usually, but I've seen that look in your eyes before," Tukson spoke after a few seconds before reaching over to grab what appeared to be a picture frame upon his desk, "Here, take a look."

Taking the offered frame, Akira flipped it over and glanced at the image contained within. Judging from the serene expression upon the womans face standing next to Tukson in the picture and the bulging stomach she rested her hands upon, it was clear that the two were lovers.

It took a few seconds for it to register, but the lack of a ring upon Tukson's finger and the expression on his face now told him the story that words never could. Furrowing his brows slightly, he glanced upwards and coal black met amber once more. "I'm sorry."

"It's been a year now, kid," Tukson admitted while taking back the picture and glancing down at it himself, "They meant the world to me, still do."

"I think I understand," Akira murmured as he watched the man stroke the picture frame within his grasp gently, lovingly, "More than I thought I ever would..."

"Yeah..." Tukson took a deep breath before continuing, "You look lost, kid, I'm not going to lie. I don't know what happened and I won't ask, but I'm willing to help if you'll take it."

"Help...?" Akira questioned lowly, unsure of just how the man could even help him to begin with, "Why?"

"Like I said, I can tell when someone's lost their spark, their _drive_ ," Tukson placed the picture frame upon his desk once more, face down as it had been, "I don't want to see any more Brothers and Sisters where you're at now, kid. It's a dark, terrifying place and you shouldn't have to go it alone, not like I had to."

Tukson shook his head sadly as he watched Akira pull into his shell once more, the blank glaze forming over his eyes belying his thoughts easily enough. Rising from his seated position, Tukson turned and made his way into the kitchen in the back of the bookstore, the sound of groceries being put away filling the shop as well as what sounded like whispered curses, something glass shattering and even more curses after that.

Soon, the light in the kitchen went out and Tukson entered the room once more, this time carrying a plate with a sandwich and a mug in his hands. "Here, eat up. It's not much, but it's filling."

"Ah... thanks," Akira took the offered plate after looking up, being drawn from his thoughts by the smell of coffee filling the air, "I'll pay you back, I promise."

"No worries, kid," Tukson waved away the gratitude of Akira, knowing that he was simply going through the motions at this point, "Just try and get yourself some rest, even if you don't sleep. I'll be upstairs, just give me a holler if you need anything."

"I will," Akira turned his glance back to the sandwich on the plate in his hand, "And thank you again. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"I think I might," Tukson gave him a wry grin before turning and making his way for the stairs, "Night, kid, I'll see you bright and early."

"Goodnight," Akira watched him go, not entirely sure how he felt about the kindness being displayed, "Sleep well."

With that, the shopkeeper made his way up the stairs almost silently, leaving the black haired teenager to sit with his thoughts once more.

It was a long night for Akira, but he eventually fell asleep. As he laid down and curled into a ball upon the dusty sleeping mat, completely lost in the world he found himself in and sorely missing his constant sleeping companion, he found it hard to think about anything but his failures in life.

 **[PL]**

The next few days had passed as a blur to Akira, barely registering due to the heavy melancholy that had befallen him. If not for the encouraging words of Tukson and the idle work the man allowed him to do around his shop, Akira was sure he would have just stayed in the alley he awoke in and let the world pass him by.

As it was, it was difficult for him to keep breathing, let alone going through the motions of pretending he was alive inside, but he kept getting up, day after day.

After a few days of studying a few of the books related to history in Tukson's shop, Akira realized just how correct he was in assuming he was no longer on Earth. From what the many texts on the subject had to say, Akira discerned he was now living on a planet named Remnant, one that was completely unlike the world he was exiled from.

The Creatures of Grimm, for one, were one of the major differences between his previous home and his current world of residence. While the Shadows of Mementos and the Metaverse were perhaps similar in nature by design, being shadowy, black creatures wearing white masks in their baser forms, that was about as close as the similarities got.

The Shadows had other, truer forms beyond the inky blackness and mask they usually wore, evident from when those masks were forcefully removed. Akira highly, highly doubted removing the mask of a Grimm would reveal anything else than a much angrier Grimm than before.

The Shadows, too, were bound to a supernatural world that had previously been completely removed from the physical, instead dwelling within the shared subconscious mind of humankind. Here, the Grimm were very much within the realm of the physical and had successfully driven life, both Human and Faunus alike, into a corner.

It was a humbling thought, to know that an army of darkness awaited him just outside the towering walls surrounding Vale, but Akira doubted he would ever have to face down any number by himself. Let the Huntsman and Huntresses have their fun, Akira wouldn't be raising his dagger for quite some time.

Another difference between Earth and Remnant had been the material, or mineral, known as Dust. It was a fantastic source of power, one capable of allowing the sentient beings of Remnant to wield the powers of nature. If not for Dust allowing the forces of life to push back the tide of darkness waiting for them around every corner, the fifth Fool was sure that life would have gone extinct thousands of years prior.

Akira wished he could have had access to the resource during his stint as leader of the Phantom Thieves, having no doubt it would have made plenty of their jobs easier than a cakewalk.

He could go on for days about the differences between Earth and Remnant, ranging from history to scientific advancements to warfare and beyond. It was almost surreal, to find himself in a world so similar to his own, yet different enough to give even _him_ culture shock. Akira Kurusu was no stranger to foreign, western styled cultures thanks to the Hawaii trip only a few months prior to his arrival in Vale.

Thanks to the steady study of the English language, something he and Ann both spent quite some time doing, Akira was able to mostly blend in without difficulties in the strange Kingdom-City he found himself in. The technological advancements made on Remnant certainly threw him for a loop and took quite a few minutes of studying for him to comprehend, but they were not so far off from the scope of his imagination that he couldn't adapt easily enough.

While he had yet to acquire a 'Scroll', the name of the devices that took the place of phones on Remnant, Tukson had demonstrated how one functioned when Akira questioned him on the device.

Tukson took all of his oddities in stride and kept his questions to himself, though Akira could tell that the man was still trying to figure out the strange habits and inconsistencies of his newest worker.

"So, can you at least tell me where you got so many?" Tukson tossed the bag of jewels in his hand up and down calmly, not at all bothered by the fact that Akira was carrying around a literal fortune in precious commodities in his bag, "You didn't rob a bank, did you?"

Akira would have smirked and gave him a snarky comment about remembering such an occurrence at some point, but neither his mood nor the situation called for it. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders while pushing his glasses up with his index finger.

"They are mementos of my past, you could say, ones that would serve me better as a way of securing Lien." Akira gestured towards the large bag in his lap, "It's not like I have any real shortage of jewels here."

"Can you at least promise that they won't come back as missing from somewhere or someone important?" Tukson's voice was slightly strained with incredulity, eying the larger bag in Akira's lap while counting up in his head just how much money the two were looking at, "Because I don't need any more trouble than I already have."

"I swear on my life that there is no way you could get in trouble with those," Akira gestured towards the bag in Tukson's grasp, "They aren't stolen, they were earned through blood, sweat and tears."

Technically, he wasn't lying. Akira had acquired a ridiculous amount of jewels and other valuables such as golden coins with jagged edges, thin silver coins and other such items found in Mementos. While most of the jewels had been limited to being found in the Palaces, they were still difficult to get Iwai to purchase in any large amounts.

The man couldn't really afford to purchase wholesale jewels, despite running a pawnshop, not when they were such high quality. The silver haired Ex-Yakuza member instead purchased his gold and silver coins, having a much better market to resell them than the jewels or other valuable items.

By his estimates, and he knew he was selling it short, those jewels were worth at least ten times as much on Remnant than they were on Earth due to the geological formations present. Thanks to the massive presence of Dust below the earth and in the mountainous regions, the natural formations of other mineral deposits that would later make jewels were in far less supply than Earth.

Akira wasn't sure _how_ or _why_ , exactly, considering he wasn't a geologist, but he wasn't going to skip up taking advantage of the boon such things offered him.

"Kid... alright, I might know a guy, but you'll only get about half of what their worth at best," Tukson eventually agreed, finding that Akira's word was good enough for him, "Will that work for you? It's still a hell of a lot of Lien here."

"That is fine," Akira nodded his head firmly while placing the other large bag back into his messenger bag, "I want you to take twenty percent at the least, as well."

Tukson widened his eyes while looking at the bag in his hand before looking back to Akira. "That is a mighty generous tip, there."

"Think of it as me paying back the kindness you showed me," Akira didn't seem like he would be willing to budge with his offer, "It's the right thing to do, especially when I know where the money is going anyway."

Once more, Akira spoke the truth. The first full day that Akira spent on Remnant was delegated to following Tukson around town as he made a few stops before opening his shop. After getting the help of the morose teenager in whipping up a massive breakfast of eggs and grits, the two made their way back to the industrial district where Akira was introduced to a large community of downtrodden Faunus even worse off than himself.

If not for the help of Tukson and his considerate offer to allow him to use the small room in the back of his bookshop and his constant efforts of keeping him occupied, Akira had no doubt he would be just as bad off as those of the industrial district.

Banding together to try and survive, the Faunus struggling with finding work all seemed to pool their resources to make sure that the kids and elderly were well fed, leaving most of the adults with nothing more than scraps to go on.

Seeing Tukson had brought a large number of those present from their funk, lighting up their faces as once more, the shopkeeper came with gifts for the hungry. It allowed Akira to gain a better insight into the state of the world he found himself in, a world he found wanting in more ways than one.

Finding out that he could no longer be considered Human was almost as liberating as it was devastating, no matter how he looked at it. After spending multiple hours dwelling on the fact that he had _cat ears_ , Akira came to the conclusion that it had to do with something Morgana did before he faded away.

It was the only explanation that made any sort of sense to the misplaced Fool.

The longer he dwelled on it, however, the less it mattered to him. Akira didn't care what people called him. Thief, degenerate, thug, killer, _master_. They were all the same. Be he Human, be he Faunus, Akira was Akira, even in this special Hell all for him named Remnant.

"What do you plan on doing with the money?" Tukson questioned as he rose from his desk and grabbed his coat from his chair, "Sorry for being nosy, I'm just curious. You don't seem the type to need a whole lot."

"I'm not," Akira agreed with Tukson's assessment completely, "I... think I want to open a cafe, somewhere Faunus and Humans alike can go to relax and get away from the world outside. Somewhere safe, where discussions can be had over coffee and curry instead of by blade and bloodshed."

After passing by the empty shop next to Tukson's time and time again, building 281 to be specific, the frizzy haired teenager began to see similarities between the small vacant space and a home he was forced to leave behind.

Realizing that he would need a large amount of money, specifically Lien, Akira began to break down in his head just what he would need to start Cafe Leblanc from scratch. Tukson had allowed him to use the large scroll he kept in the back room to browse Remnant's version of the Internet, just called the Web, and price everything he would need from hand grinders to roasters to sifters and everything in between.

He was looking at a few thousand Lien in equipment costs, the rent to keep the building and actual product to sell to those who stopped by, which was a hefty sum of money.

After digging through his belongings to grab his spare set of clothes while he washed his usual winter outfit, he came across the large bags full of jewels, coins and other valuables he had collected. Every member of the Phantom Thieves had their own stash of jewels and valuables that they kept in their homes, the loot they found having been evenly distributed amongst them.

While the messy haired teenager was loathe to give up any of the belongings he brought over from Earth, a few jewels he looted from a parallel dimension was a small price to pay for a bit of happiness in his time of need.

"Hmm... that's a good idea, Akira," The shopkeeper shot him a thumbs up on his way out the door, "You make damn good coffee, and that curry was something else. I'm sure you'll be successful, especially if you open up a little further towards Beacon."

"Oh?" Akira questioned as he followed Tukson from the back room of the shop, leaving his messenger bag within his doorway before locking the door behind him, "Why is that?"

"I hear that everyone on the north side of the river can stick coffee straight into their veins without feeling a thing, don't quote me on that, though." Tukson laughed at his own joke as he made his way out the door, waving at Akira from over his shoulder, "This won't take too long. See you in an hour, kid, keep up the great work."

"Thanks, and be careful out there." Akira called out, knowing just how dangerous certain areas of the city he found himself in could really be, especially after watching just a few minutes of the local news station out of curiosity.

'Well, I suppose there are other shops I can rent,' Akira thought to himself as he grabbed the duster and began to make his rounds around the shop once more, cleaning as he thought, 'There are two other cafes on this street, perhaps setting up a few blocks away would make more sense.'

With that, the former leader of the Phantom Thieves began to rethink his plans and the price tag on his current dream.

 **[PL]**

"A little to the left... perfect."

Akira placed his hands on his hips almost proudly as he oversaw the last booth get installed in his humble recreation of Cafe Leblanc. The delivery men snapped him a quick mock salute as he signed off on the paperwork that would allow payments to be drawn from his account at the First Bank of Vale to pay off his most recent purchases.

Watching the men leave, Akira was left alone in his shop once more, leaving him to finish adding the last decorations before he could declare Leblanc Deux officially open for business the following day.

It had been two months since he found himself on Remnant, and it was the longest two months of his life, if he was completely honest with himself. After expressing his desire to open up shop, it became apparent to Akira that he would need to register as a citizen of Vale before he would be allowed to rent a shop.

It had taken another two weeks before he was finally put in the system as a resident of the city, but eventually, the former leader of the Phantom Thieves had been able to place his bid on the building as an official citizen of Vale.

After a lot of work, elbow grease and Lien being thrown at it mercilessly, Akira finally satisfied his need to return home in his own way. After finishing renovating his new homes lower floor to look as close to the original Cafe Leblanc as it possibly could, the frizzy haired 'Faunus' got to work in adding his own little spin on the shop.

The left wall, instead of having the image of the Tokyo Skyline, was painted to resemble the skyline of Vale instead. While the bench seats were the same size as they were prior, they were instead finished in a beautiful shade of blue that reminded him of his two Attendant's uniforms.

A large collection of books purchased from Tukson's shop lined the shelves next to the booths as well as potted plants that brought a bit of life to Leblanc Deux, the official name of Akira's cafe as homage to his father-figure's own coffee and curry shop in Yongen.

He couldn't find a large, yellow telephone to slap on the edge of the counter, but a pot of yellow flowers seemed to fill the gap he felt was present.

The last item Akira had custom ordered was in image that had previously been stored on his phone blown up to a larger size. Hanging on the wall where Sayuri once rested, a group photo of the Phantom Thieves hung instead, one taken when everyone had been present in the original Cafe Leblanc. Using his Scroll's camera function, it wasn't difficult to turn his phone on long enough to chose which picture he wanted to use in place of Yusuke's mothers painting. Eventually, he decided on one of the pictures where his hood was up to hide the fact that he hadn't always had the cat ears upon his head.

It would have been difficult to explain his transition from Human to Faunus without making him sound like a lunatic, obviously.

It took quite some time for the former leader of the Phantom Thieves to draw his gaze away from the photo, but as he hung it on the wall and took a step back, he couldn't help but feel that his shop was as close to finished as he was going to get it.

Sitting himself down next to the pot of yellow flowers at the edge of the counter, Akira began to speak, relaying the last few months to the photograph as if they could hear him. Even if they were gone now, he couldn't help but feel that they were listening when he finally worked up the courage to face them once more.

"I don't know how I'm still here," Akira murmured, his voice thick with emotion as he made sure to look them all in the eyes as he addressed them, "I don't know _why_ , either, but I think I'm figuring things out."

He paused for a moment, straining his ears to listen as he swore he heard Ryuji's voice, only to continue a moment later upon realizing it was just a figment of his imagination.

"I want to say thank you," Akira stood from his seated position at the counter, coming to a rest just before the photograph of the seven teenagers and their odd cat, "Thank you for everything, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough, or good enough to save you. I'm sorry I dragged you all down playing a game I was destined to lose. I'm so sorry..."

He trailed off as he reached out and placed a hand upon the photo, his voice choking up at the end and preventing him from speaking further. Akira didn't move from that spot for a few hours, instead searching the gaze of those he would never see again.


	3. Cold Brewing

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **3,**_ _ **Cold Brewing**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _We might start getting somewhere with the plot soonish, maybe?_

 **[PL]**

"Thank you for your patronage, and please come again." Akira bowed at the waist as yet another satisfied customer made their way to the door. It had been slow at first, but after a month, Leblanc Deux was becoming more and more popular among the residence of Vale.

The sound of constant chatter filled the cafe as Akira made his way back to the kitchen to stir the curry that was currently cooking on the stove. Humming under his breath as he balanced making sure the rice wasn't sticking and that the curry wasn't bubbling over, the frizzy haired shop owner kept himself busy throughout the day as he dealt with his steadily growing customer base.

"Can I get a refill, boss?" Came a request from the counter, causing Akira to turn and glance at the person who made the request before he was in motion to do as requested. Having already memorized what that particular customer was drinking, it was as easy as grinding another round of beans and setting them to brew slowly before he was back in the kitchen stirring his curry.

"It'll be ready in just a few moments, Jeff." Akira called out as he poked his head into the fridge to pull out a tray of coffee cakes that had been set to cool before he could decorate them, "Would you like another cake as well?"

"Yes, please!" Jeff called out boisterously, his mustache curling upwards to show his delight, "I don't know how you make them so good, but I swear I'll get that recipe from you eventually."

Akira laughed lightly at the words of the man before shaking his head in the negative. "I already gave you hints, you're going to have to guess the rest."

The sound of one of his coffee machine dinging twice let him know that the roasting and brewing process had been completed, allowing him to remove the mug filled with steaming, black liquid from the machine before tapping three buttons to reset his preferences.

Passing the fresh mug of Vacuoan Black to the construction worker who chose to frequent Leblanc Deux almost every day of the week before and after his shift, Akira removed his glasses and used the small rag tied to his belt to clean the lenses before returning them to his face.

The sound of the door to his shop opening and closing drew his attention towards the front of his shop, where he locked gazes with the most recent person to visit. Dark brown eyes hid behind crooked framed glasses that rested upon the tip of his nose, circular in shape and very much unlike the ones worn by Akira.

His hair was easily as wild as the fifth Fool's, going every which way as if he just stepped out of a windstorm. His hair had been either dyed or faded into gray, considering his brows were as black as night. It was a bit odd and reminded Akira of how Ryuji used to dye his hair, in a way.

Dressed in a green and black suit with a green scarf around his throat, the cane wielding man seemed to enjoy comfort over fashion or protection, considering the lack of armor upon his body.

The lazy looking man made his way to the counter before setting himself down in one of the six chairs, glancing at the large blackboard hanging above the counter after getting comfortable.

"Welcome to Leblanc Deux, our special today is a sweet green curry served over rice," Akira greeted the man with a nod of his head, maintaining eye contact for a few more seconds before turning his attention back to the kitchen, "Just give me a shout when you're ready to order."

"Thank you," Came the mans reply as he continued to peruse the large menu, his brows raising slightly at the rather large selection of different coffee beans the cafe had available, "You have quite the selection here, much larger than the cafe I usually frequent."

"I try and keep a diverse stock," Akira admitted while ringing up a pair of customers that just finished off their own plate of curry and rice, "I might have to cut a few items off the menu to make things a bit less cluttered."

"Hmm, variety is the spice of life," The gray haired man laughed gently at his own joke before shaking his head slightly, "What would you recommend?"

"Thank you for your patronage, please come again," Akira raised a hand to wave the two customers off before turning his attention back to the gray haired man sitting at his counter next to Jeff, "I'm partial to Mistralian red and Valean red mixed, it's a nice balance between acidic and smooth with chocolate undertones."

"May I have a large mug of that, then, roasted for five minutes and ground extra fine?" The man requested after a few seconds of thinking about his order, "With a plate of your special today, if you don't mind."

"Coming right up, Sir," Akira gave him a nod to show that his order was heard loud and clear before making his way to the small hand grinder he used for his more expensive strain of beans, "We have a few different types of bases, do you prefer rice, or bread crumbs?"

"Rice sounds lovely," The man called out as Akira continued to work, "I don't recall having seen this cafe before, how long have you been open?"

"A month," Akira admitted while twisting the lever attached to the small hand grinder placed behind the counter, "I wanted to move a bit further into town, but a friend recommended I open up closer to Beacon."

"I admit that we needed a good cafe closer to home," The man chuckled lightly as he laced his fingers before his face, "It's been difficult, having to go back to the instant brew coffee that the faculty seems so fond of."

"You're a member of Beacons staff, then?" Akira was curious, having only heard stories of the large school on the outskirts of the eastern side of Vale, "How do you like it there?"

"I love it. I'm the Headmaster, actually," The man seemed almost shocked that Akira didn't recognize him, "My name is Ozpin, may I ask yours?"

"Akira," The frizzy haired teenager introduced himself while tapping the contents of the grinder into a specialty filter designed to hold the extra-fine coffee grounds, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Headmaster."

"Please, call me Ozpin, I get enough of 'Headmaster' from my students," Ozpin waved off the title without a thought, watching as Akira went through the process of brewing his coffee as if scrutinizing his every move, "I have to say, I'm surprised that someone so young has been so successful in this particular business."

"I learned from the best," Akira was not modest in saying this, firmly believing that Sojiro had been the master of coffee, "It wouldn't have been right if I wasted what I was taught."

"I see..." Ozpin trailed off, turning his attention around the room before finally settling on the photograph that took the place of the Sayuri painting, "I have to say, this is a rather well decorated establishment, very homely feeling. I can see that you drew inspiration from another cafe?"

Akira nodded his head and turned before making his way back to the kitchen to check on the steaming vegetables he added to the curry, "I did. I learned everything I know there."

While that was stretching it a bit, he had indeed learned more during his stay at Leblanc than he did previously in his life. Akira had more fond memories spending time with Sojiro and Futaba than he did his own mother and father.

Thinking about the two instantly put a hamper in his step, but he continued on seconds later as if his thoughts hadn't threatened to crush him under foot once more.

"I see... Thank you, it smells wonderful." Ozpin raised his large mug of coffee to inspect it after Akira finally brought it to the counter, taking a deep whiff of the aroma before sighing in content.

Taking a tentative sip of the strong brew, the Headmaster seemed to melt in his seat as he reclined further into his chair.

"I do hope you won't mind my asking, but shouldn't you be in school?" Ozpin eventually questioned after Akira had started to clean a few of the glasses in the sink, "You don't seem quite old enough to be running your own shop."

"You are forgiven," Akira shrugged his shoulders in response, not seeing the need to provide any concise details on his past, "I don't feel like wasting any more time learning things I'll never need."

"That is a shame, young man," Ozpin said almost sadly as he shook his head in disappointment, "You should never consider education a waste of time."

"Oh, that is not what I meant to imply," Akira amended after thinking over his words, "I can learn faster on my own, and this allows me to make enough Lien to get by comfortably. It helps that I genuinely enjoy cooking and brewing, while I detest being limited to a classroom."

Ozpin nodded, though he seemed to do it more as acknowledgment rather than agreement. "You're weapon is rather large to be hiding beneath a jacket, did you create it yourself?"

Akira tensed his shoulders as he glanced backwards at the Headmaster, sizing him up as if he could potentially be a threat. While it was true that any person, be they Human or Faunus, was technically a threat, but Akira had gone to great lengths in making sure that his hidden weapon wasn't obvious.

People got uncomfortable when their server had a pistol tucked under his arm in a leather holster, especially one designed like Akira's.

"I like to have a deterrent when I make my rounds around the shadier parts of Vale." Akira noted as he went back to cleaning the glasses in the sink while his patrons continued to enjoy their meal and coffee. Yet again, Akira found himself speaking in half-truths, but he hardly cared. He didn't owe anyone anything, let alone the Headmaster of a school he would never attend.

"I suppose that is a good reason as any to carry a weapon," Ozpin agreed while raising his mug to his lips once more, falling silent with his strange line of questioning.

A few more minutes passed before the Headmaster finished his coffee and cakes, finally rising to leave after leaving a rather generous tip and his payment next to his glass.

"I hope you don't mind, but I have a feeling I'm going to be stopping by quite a bit in the next few months." Ozpin spoke as he grabbed his cane and made his way to the door, a happy jaunt in his step thanks to the exquisite cup of coffee.

Pausing by the door for a second, Ozpin looked over his shoulder and made eye contact with Akira once more. It seemed as if the Headmaster had something to say, but he refrained from doing so, instead turning and making his way into the crowd of passersby moving down the sidewalk outside of Leblanc.

Akira tilted his head to the side in thought as he watched the man leave, unsure as to why he felt like the man had been dissecting him beneath a microscope in those scant few moments.

 **[PL]**

Night had fallen once more as Akira found himself walking along his usual route to cross the Valean River to reach the industrial district. With his hood pulled over his head and his face towards the ground, it was difficult to make out any of his features for those passing by, which was exactly what he wanted.

Tukson had been correct when he said that it was easier to blend in than stick out in Vale. Thanks to the actions of a few more vocal White Fang members, the Human supremacist gangs had increased the frequency of the attacks they made on unsuspecting Faunus trying to make it in the world.

Every time Akira turned on the large scroll set up in Leblanc Deux for his customers, all he heard about were robberies, drive-by shootings, murder, theft and more murder. It was a bit shocking to find out just how high the crime rate had climbed in the worse off parts of town, causing Akira to go way out of his way to take the long way around the gangs territories.

The sound of squealing tires drew his attention, but it was the gunshots that rang out immediately after that caused him to spring from his spot and under cover. While they did not come from the same street he was on, it didn't mean that the shooters couldn't round the corner and spot him as well before marking him as a target as well.

Dropping his bags and slipping into the alley way next to him, Akira withdrew the large, black pistol he kept within a shoulder holster beneath his left arm and held it at the ready as he peeked his head around the corner. Seeing that there were no vehicles on the street he was currently on, he made his way around the corner and kept his body crouched low, either hand wrapped around the handle of his weapon as he slinked into the shadows.

Poking his head around the corner at the end of the block, he heard the screaming woman before he saw her. A few feet away, a petite blond woman was frantically trying to press something into the chest of what appeared to be a child, no older than twelve or thirteen.

Glancing around the street one last time to make sure there wouldn't be another shooting, Akira holstered his weapon and made his way to the woman and her child. "Where are they hit?"

"You, please help! Oh gods, why?!" The woman turned to him upon hearing him run up, her eyes filled with tears and her hands covered in blood, "Please, they shot my baby! I can't lose her!"

The girl's body writhed in pain as she attempted to raise a hand to place against her wound, only for her to be stopped by her mother. The woman was quickly falling into shock, as was the child.

"Calm down, Ma'am," Akira spoke gently, his mind working a mile a minute to remember what he was told by Tae as he stripped his jacket from his chest, "When I tell you when, lift your hands, okay?"

She didn't respond quick enough, causing Akira to raise his voice to get her attention once more.

"Ma'am, it's going to be okay, don't panic! When I tell you to, I need you to move." Akira was more firm this time, knowing that at the rate the girl was losing blood, she wouldn't make it until the paramedics arrived.

His heart was beating in his throat as he watched the woman withdraw her hand from the wounded torso of the short teenager. Just as her hands came away, Akira quickly compressed his black jacket into the wound while cursing under his breath.

The light was fading from the childs eyes quickly, and Akira was forced to make a choice.

When he had awoken in Remnant, he was lost emotionally and physically. Due to the mental state he had fallen into, he didn't put much thought into the feeling of strength flowing through his body at almost all points.

He knew what the feeling represented, having felt it each and every time he entered Mementos, but he ignored it as best as he could while he attempted to settle himself into Vale and regather his thoughts.

Now, however, he couldn't ignore such things.

A flare of blue flames rose from the ground beneath his kneeling form and sprung from the corners of his eyes in the shape of his mask, growing more and more intense as he forced the energy within him to the surface once more.

As he felt the connection between himself and Kaguya solidify, the white mask of the Joker settled over the bridge of his nose once more as the flames of energy continued to spill from his eyes.

The former Joker called out the name of one of the few healing spells he could cast just as the spectral image of a white haired woman clad in red appeared behind him. _"_ _Diarahan._ _"_

A green glow erupted around his palms as he continued to press his jacket into the wounded girls chest, slowly knitting the wound shut while preventing her from bleeding out. The feeling of something pressing back into his palms forced Akira to eventually remove his jacket, allowing him to catch the bullet that had pushed its way from the wound upon the young girls chest.

Seeing that the wound had mostly closed and that the bleeding had slowed tremendously, Akira replaced his jacket against her chest while withdrawing his scroll and calling the police to the scene.

"Is she going to be alright?" The previously hysterical woman questioned after a moment, listening as Akira vocalized the location he was at before snapping his scroll down into its compact form once more, "Please tell me she's going to live!"

"Everything is going to be fine now, Ma'am," Akira admitted after a second while showing her the bullet in his hand, "I've removed the bullet and sealed the wound, mostly."

"Thank you," The woman sobbed into her hands as she nearly fell onto the fallen form of her now unconscious daughter, "Thank you so much!"

"I did what anyone would have done," Akira tried to play it off while gesturing for her to take his jacket, "I need you to keep pressing this against the wound until the paramedics arrive. We both know the police will take their sweet time, so let's try and keep our calm."

"Right, thank you," The mother was quick to follow his orders as he gestured for her to take his place, "I-, my name is Gray Strom, this is my daughter Mael."

"Akira," The frizzy haired teenager introduced himself in turn, "You're doing great, just keep the pressure on there."

Removing one of his thin red gloves, he pressed a finger on her jugular to get a feel for her pulse. After a few seconds, he was satisfied with the strength of her heart beat and the steady rhythm of her breathing.

Replacing the glove, Akira pulled it tight and latched the belted strap at his wrist. As he looked up, he saw Gray staring at him with wide eyes, despite continuing to press her hands against her wounded and unconscious daughters chest.

"What... _who_ are you?" Gray whispered under her breath, only seeing the blue flames pouring from behind his white mask, "Is this your semblance?"

Akira wanted to shake his head in the negative, but he eventually nodded instead. While his abilities relating to his Persona were not the same as a Semblance, he doubted anyone on Remnant would be able to tell the difference if he kept his abilities further under wraps.

Kaguya faded away with a ringing giggle filling the air, as did the azure flames surrounding him and flowing from his eyes. Akira removed his mask and stared at it for a moment as if seeing it for the first time before crushing it within his grasp and letting it dissipate in the wind.

"Yes," Akira eventually agreed to her assumption and answered as simply as he could before turning his attention down the street, "It seems they've arrived already, must have been close by."

Rising and gesturing towards the downed form of Mael, Akira stood back and allowed the paramedics to tend to the wounded girl. It took only a few seconds for them to take control of the situation before wheeling her into the back of the emergency vehicle to further dress her wounds to prepare her for transport.

Soon after, the police arrived for questioning before eventually allowing Akira to leave. Despite helping stabilize Mael, he wasn't close enough by to see anything worthy of having him brought to the station for questioning.

Two of the officers tried to give him a hard time about his weapon and the fact that he was a Faunus, but the deputy that arrived with them quickly put an end to the harassment before sending him on his way with a pat on the back.

He heard Gray shouting to get his attention, but Akira only stopped to wave over his shoulder before continuing towards his bags and then to the nearest dust-station where he could wash his hands.

Akira was glad that his gloves were red to begin with.

 **[PL]**

It was midnight when Akira arrived back at Leblanc Deux, his eyes heavy as he shuffled his feet a bit less silently than usual. Opening the front door to his cafe and home, he quickly slipped inside and relocked his door before yawning and stretching.

Blinking twice, Akira would have reached for his weapon for the second time that night if not for the raised hands of the figure sitting at his bar.

"Alright," Akira nodded as if confirming that he was, indeed, seeing a person sitting at his counter after hours, "You mind telling me what you are doing in my home? The sign clearly says closed, and the doors were locked."

"Tukson let me in, said you were a friend and that you'd help." Turning so that Akira could get a look at the figures face, he was surprised by the glare of her eyes shining back in the dark, a trait most Faunus shared with their animal counterparts.

"Tukson really needs to give a guy a call before dropping a woman off in someone elses home." Akira nearly growled, if not for the fact that he knew his friend wouldn't have done so without good reason, "Your name?"

"Blake Belladonna. I just need somewhere to sleep, I promise I'm not a thief." She tried to reason after watching Akira's hand twitch towards his weapon once more, perhaps a nervous trait when faced with the unknown, "Please, I don't have anywhere else to go and I'm short on Lien for a room."

Akira made his way around the lithe form of the black haired female sitting at his counter before making his way towards the kitchen to set down his bags of dirty plates, mugs and bowls to be washed, keeping an eye on her the entire time.

Blake was as tense as Akira, though for completely different reasons. Her eyes were wide as she stared, and it took a few seconds for him to realize why. "Are you hurt?"

Glancing down at his partially blood-soaked button down, he cursed under his breath before waving her concern away. "It's not mine, and I didn't hurt anyone."

Seeing that he wasn't going to elaborate further, Blake nodded her head and remained silent as he turned to study her a bit closer.

Her hair was easily as wavy as his, and his enhanced eyesight allowed him to discern the small set of ears poking up from beneath the waves of her locks. She was as slim as he was, if not a bit more on the lithe side while Akira leaned more towards muscular.

Her color scheme was black and white with a bit of a strange shade of purple that he couldn't name. From the waist coat down to the white shorts, Blake certainly made for an attractive figure.

His attention mostly fell on the blade he saw peaking from over her shoulder, likely attached to one of the magnetic holsters that seemed popular with Huntsmen and Huntresses.

"I promise I don't mean any trouble," She tried once more upon seeing his gaze fall on her weapon, "I really, really don't want to sleep in the alley again..."

Akira sighed heavily and glanced at the kitchen, taking note of the fact that she seemed to have already washed most of the dishes, leaving a few of the more complicated components that needed cleaning alone to not mess them up.

He appreciated the fact that she at least tried to help clean up, despite not knowing if she would be staying or not.

"Have you been upstairs?" Akira questioned lightly as he removed his gloves and placed them next to the sink before reaching towards the bags of dirty dishes and placing them on the counter next to his sink.

"No, I've waited down here for... four hours now." Blake glanced at the analog clock on his wall, "I didn't want to snoop and I've only touched the dishes in the sink."

"I appreciate it," Akira nodded his head before turning and making his way to the stairs, "Wait here a moment, please."

He didn't wait for her response, instead climbing his stairs while fishing his scroll from his pocket before dialing Tukson's number.

His Scroll rang three times before he finally answered.

"I was waiting to hear from you, kid, what took you so long?" Tukson was half asleep, sitting in the rolling chair behind his desk, "Damn, what time is it?"

"You fell asleep in your chair again?" Akira questioned with a raised brow, knowing that the man kept himself up late doing extra work in the back that he wasn't really privy to, "That isn't why I'm calling, why did you let a woman into my home without so much as letting me know ahead of time?"

"Look, I have a few projects I'm working on, and she was in the same alley I found _you_ in. The shaggy black hair and cat ears made me think of you, and well... I don't know, I thought you might help her get back on her feet." Tukson scratched the back of his head while his voice seemed a bit more distant as he spoke, glancing around his room while putting something under his desk before he stood, "She's a good kid, I met her a few years back at a rally and we've kept in touch whenever she's in Vale."

"That's fine and dandy, but why couldn't she just stay in the room I crashed in at your place?" Akira raised a brow as he waited for Tukson to answer, knowing that the man likely had a good reason, "Don't tell me you took my advise?"

"... I did," Tukson admitted with a nod, a small smile playing on his face, "She actually only left an hour ago, I must have dozed off thinking again."

"I'm glad to hear it, Tukson," Akira smiled lightly in return, happy that the man he was quickly coming to see as an uncle was moving on from his past by another step, "You seem less grumpy, she must be amazing to cheer _you_ up."

"Oh shut _up_ you little brat, this is why I'm glad your big eared ass moved out!" Tukson shouted while gesturing towards his scroll with a flat, open palm as if to say 'what is this shit', "Seriously though, kid, Blake is a good girl, and she needs somewhere she can lay low. You know a bit about what I've done and who I used to be, so I'm sure you can put the pieces together and do the right thing."

Akira didn't say anything for a few moments, pursing his lips in thought as he mulled it over in his head. He knew that Tukson was involved with the White Fang to _some_ extent, though the man never admitted as much before now. Akira had his theories about what he did, considering the content of some of the paperwork he had come across while organizing the shop, but he kept his mouth shut and didn't ask questions.

Tukson seemed to appreciate his silence and kept his own about the strange inconsistencies Akira was slowly doing his best to correct, such as his lack of knowledge about general geography around Remnant and his odd stash of ridiculously high quality gems and gold coins, not to mention the lock picking tools that Akira had made when Tukson admitted to losing the key to his safe and needing some of the paperwork from within it.

If Tukson was willing to vouch for her, it was good enough for him. He knew that the soon to be former Fang member wouldn't let a psycho into his home and leave him to the wolves, so to speak. She was obviously feline in nature like him, but the saying fit the situation.

"How long do you think this will be?"

"I don't freakin' know, kid, why don't you ask her that?" Tukson was giving him the patented 'why the hell are you asking me' look that he sometimes gave Akira when his questions became a little too much, "Jeez, what is with you and questions, kid? Don't you know curiosity killed the cat?"

"It's not curiosity, it's a need to know how long I'm going to have a stranger sleeping in my home." Akira deadpanned before shaking his head, "Alright, I guess I'll pay forward the same kindness you showed me, she can pass it on next."

"And that is what keeps us Faunus alive." Tukson gave him a beaming smile before waving almost mockingly at his Scroll before hanging up abruptly.

Akira stared through the screen of his Scroll, counting down from ten to prevent himself from cursing Tukson loudly. With a twitch in his left eye, he made his way around the loft that led to his bedroom and began to pick up any tools that may point to a shadier lifestyle than a cafe owner.

After a few minutes, the room was clear of any incriminating items, having been stored away in the safe in his bedroom off to the right of the foyer he had made to be identical to where he previously slept back in Tokyo.

His schematics about his weapons and other projects remained at his work bench, being a more tame hobby than crafting explosives from dust and creating lock picks for the more advanced safes and doors of Remnant.

After making sure that the large bed in the corner had clean sheets and wasn't covered in dust like he first dealt with when having to sleep in the attic of Leblanc, Akira made his way back down the steps and into the foyer of his cafe.

"We need to have a little chat before I make any decisions," Akira leaned against the wall next to the stairs, eying her almost warily as he watched her ears perk up and her expression become slightly less morose, "I won't ask anything personal, just a few things so I can get a better read on you."

"That... is reasonable," Blake nodded her head to accede to answering his questions, "What would you like to know?"

"How long do you think you'll be staying?" Akira started off with one of the more obvious questions he had.

"Er... I planned on applying for Beacon for the next semester, so... two months?" Blake questioned instead of saying, knowing that the length of time she had to wait would be quite some time, "They start the new school year then and if I get accepted, will be provided a dorm."

"I see," Akira nodded, his voice not carrying any inflection as he pondered her words, "So you plan on being a Huntress?"

"I do... I, well, I have my reasons," Blake attempted to speak, but cut herself off before glancing to the left, a sign of her discomfort with the subject, "I want to help make a world where Humans and Faunus can come together without the need for violence. Nothing builds camaraderie like killing Grimm together, side by side. Maybe if I become well known, I can spread my message further than I could have in the past..."

Akira tilted his head to the side, once more contemplating her words slowly. He agreed with the sentiment, for the most part, but the fighting Grimm part didn't appeal to him nearly as much.

He had his fill of fighting monsters.

"A noble goal," Akira noted as he glanced around his cafe in thought, "Almost the exact reason I opened this cafe, as well."

"What do you mean?" Blake questioned as she span in the stool she was sitting at, "You opened a cafe to build camaraderie between Humans and Faunus?"

"Not quite, but close enough. I built Leblanc Deux so that those rejected by society could have somewhere they could turn. Here, I don't judge, so long as you don't judge me." Akira admitted as he moved towards the kitchen, beconning Blake to follow, "Help me with these as we talk, if you don't mind?"

"Not at all," Blake quickly hopped down from her stool and made her way back into the kitchen behind the counter, "This is a beautiful establishment, I'm actually really surprised someone my age owns it, let alone a fellow Faunus."

"Thank you," Akira laughed lightly at the compliment, having a feeling that it was high praise from her, "I modeled it after my... well, my second home in Yongen."

"Yongen... I can't say I've ever heard that name, where was it?" Blake questioned after a few seconds, rolling the name around in her head before drawing a blank, "Mistral?"

"Yeah, just a small settlement that... well, it's not there anymore, safe to say." Akira spun a half-truth once more, knowing that while Yongen was still present back in the Real World, as he still called it, even if it was under the influence of the Holy Grail and Mementos.

"I see... I'm sorry," Blake spoke softly, knowing that it must have stung quite a bit even saying that much. The Grimm attacks had been happening for ages, but that didn't make the news of yet another settlement getting wiped out any less tragic.

Akira just shrugged his shoulders and fell silent as the two worked, mulling over any other questions he might have had before deciding he had asked enough. Tukson hadn't pried into his past before letting him crash in the small back room of his shop, so he figured he would extend the same courtesy to Blake.

From the diligence she displayed when helping wash the dishes and how she seemed to study where he put everything, he was pretty certain he could at least count on her help around the kitchen as payment for rent.

"Alright, I think I have an idea on what type of person you are," Akira eventually admitted after drying his hands on a spare washrag before tossing it next to the sink, "I'll let you stay until Beacon starts, so long as you help out a bit around the shop when I need it. I won't ask anything crazy, just to help watch the stove or maybe wash some dishes."

"That is... very reasonable," Blake seemed a bit taken aback at how little Akira was expecting in return, "Almost too reasonable."

"Define _'too reasonable'_ ," Akira snarked in good nature before shrugging his shoulders again, something he seemed to do a lot when he didn't feel like elaborating much on his words, "Just don't look a gift horse in the mouth, will you?"

Blake wasn't sure what he was trying to say to her about horses and mouths, but she nodded her head anyway.

"Good. I don't know if you have a set of spare clothes, but I laid out a set of night clothes on the cot in the loft just in case. Bathroom is the first door, second door leads to my room. Please, stay out of my room, and don't touch anything if it looks sketchy."

Blake didn't need to be told twice on not touching things that looked off, having seen plenty of White Fang initiates lose fingers to objects like grenades designed by some of the most incompetent engineers to join the organization.

Staying out of his room was also a given, and Blake wouldn't betray the trust he was giving her by allowing her to remain in his shop, even despite the fact he didn't know her from the next stranger on the street.

If not for Tukson vouching for her, Blake highly doubted this stranger would have let her stay.

"I never caught your name," Blake called out as she saw him turn and make his way to the stairs once more, not bothered by the fact that he had an armed woman sitting at his counter.

"Akira Kurusu. I'm going to get a shower and get this blood off of me. You can have it next." Akira called out over his shoulder as he made his way upstairs once more, unbuttoning his shirt the entire way almost thoughtlessly.

He missed the look of appreciation Blake was giving him and the silent whisper of her thanks.


	4. Leaving footprints in your mind

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **4,**_ _ **Leaving footprints**_ _ **in your mind**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _This chapter title was inspired by a song titled 'The Far Side' by Aviators. The lyrics seem to fit Akira extremely well, even if it was written about a ghost._

 _Also, mister Milton, would you believe me if I told you that I already had plans on something similar to your omake idea? It will be explained in this chapter, as a matter of fact. I've had to ask my friend Jason Wu multiple times before as well, but are you a wizard?_

 _No worries Lucem, you will be seeing a bit more of what Akira can do in Remnant here soon. He won't be sitting on his hands forever, he just needs time to recuperate._

 _Thank you holya, and you have a great day as well!_

 _Thank you to everstar17, simple405, DualGear and the guests as well, all of you. If I didn't mention your name, fret not, you're all cool as hell too._

 _Also, before I forget, Akira's birthday is going to be on 4/20, because why the hell not, right? I don't exactly remember them mentioning days of the week or even months, but let's just assume, that for some ungodly reason, Remnant uses the same calender system as most of Earth does at this point._

 _That was also the day that Sojiro is unlocked as a confidant and your evening is automatically consumed with a chat, so maybe we can assume that he and Akira sat down, had a nice cup of coffee and ate curry as a small celebration._

 **[PL]**

" _No!"_

Lurching forward, Akira was roughly ejected from his nightmare and brought back to the realm of the living. Taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out, he flopped backwards onto his bed once more and stared upwards at his ceiling fan as it slowly rotated to circulate the air in his room.

"That dream again..." Akira whispered as he brought his hands before his eyes as if to check if he was still solid, "It felt so real, though..."

The scene of his friends fading away from reality flickered through his minds eye before disappearing just as quick. A stab of remorse shot through his heart and made his stomach lurch before it, too, disappeared.

Rolling onto his side and allowing his feet to dangle over the edge of his extra-large and fluffy bed, he took another deep breath before reaching for the glass of water he kept on his bedside table and draining it in one gulp.

Coughing lowly to remove the droplets of water that made their way into his lungs, Akira shook his head and did his best to clear away the dark thoughts that consumed him so quickly.

Akira tilted his head to either side to crack his neck as he stretched his arms above his head, yawning loudly as he stood and made his way to his closet. Pulling out a slim white button down, a black waistcoat with crimson paisley designs and black slacks, he dressed himself slowly while attempting to blink the sleep from his eyes.

Glancing over at his alarm clock, Akira realized that he still had a few hours before he was expected to open his doors once more, causing him to sigh wearily. His recent sleeping habits seemed to be getting worse and worse, though he did he best to let the nightmares go instead of dwelling on them.

Moving to his dresser and grabbing a pair of his crimson gloves along with a simple, thin black tie, he threw the tie around his neck before moving towards his door. A simple, mid length black blazer and black cuban heeled dress shoes were the last articles he slipped on before he made his way through the foyer and down the stairs into the cafe proper, ignoring the strange look Blake shot him as he passed through the room she slept in and made his way to the shared bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face.

He must have woken her up with his shouting, something he would probably have to apologize for later. His mind was a bit too scattered at the moment, and he didn't want to try and speak with her while she was still laying in bed.

It was a bit awkward for him at first, but eventually the two seemed to settle into a rhythm that allowed both to have their personal space while still working as an efficient team. She had made true to her words and continued to earn her keep just as he had to in Yongen, going above and beyond to make sure that she listened when he spoke and followed his instructions to the letter.

Akira appreciated the help as it freed him up to speak with his customers a bit more as he worked, not to mention branch out and experiment with other foods he had learned to make like beef bowls and grilled meats.

Blake had a steady hand and was methodical in nature, making her almost perfect as both a cook and barista.

Breaking away from his thoughts of his tenant, for it was far too early to be thinking about women in any fashion, even platonically, Akira instead focused on making sure that he didn't trip over his feet as he went through his waking-up routine once more.

Moving to his favorite machine, he scooped two small cups of Valean and Mistralian Red coffee beans into his small roaster before setting the time and walking towards the kitchen to fill his goose-neck kettle with purified water.

Setting the kettle onto the stove to begin heating the water, he turned his attention to the vat of cold-brew coffee he had set aside the previous night before turning the lever at the bottom of the large tub.

Pulling the hose up attached to the bottom of his brewing vat, he began to divide the strong, highly caffeinated liquid into multiple different bottles before sealing each with a cork and setting them within a mini-fridge he kept beneath the bar specifically for cold blends.

He continued to clean and get everything prepared for the day once more, humming under his breath the entire time. After an hour, Blake quietly made her way down the stairs and began to help as well, having grown familiar with the inside of the cafe to the point she could almost walk it blindfolded.

Two hours later and the doors to Leblanc Deux were open once more, allowing the Faunus and Humans alike crowding around his cafe to enter and begin placing their orders. A small smile made its way to his face as a few more of his boisterous customers arrived, bringing with them the same cheerful banter he had slowly grown used to exchanging.

He had a feeling today was going to be a long and busy day.

 **[PL]**

"Hello again, H-, Ozpin," Akira greeted, preventing himself from addressing the man by his title and instead settling upon his given name as requested, "It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you as well, Akira," Ozpin greeted as he held the door to Leblanc Deux open for two others to spill into Akira's shop after him, "I've brought friends this time."

"I can see that," Akira laughed lightly as a rather tall man with unkempt hair and clothes slipped through the gap provided by Ozpin, followed by a blond haired woman wielding a riding crop, "Welcome to Leblanc Deux, our special today is spicy red curry served over rice and chicken. Let me know when you're ready to order."

"Thank you," Spoke the blond woman while the green haired man and Ozpin set themselves down almost excitedly at the bar, like children in a candy shop, "Do you have any recommendations, Ozpin?"

"Hmm, I would recommend the house blend," Ozpin answered easily enough while lacing his fingers before his face as he rested his elbows on the counter, "It is not quite as harsh as the Atlesian dirt you keep ordering and calling coffee, Glynda. Poor Bart here almost choked on the last pot, it was so bad. I couldn't even give it away to the more gullible students after they caught a whiff of that filth!"

Glynda sighed while resisting the urge to rub her temples, having argued with Ozpin time and time again about how much money he allocated towards the 'coffee budget', as he called it. "We've been over more times than I can count, must you act like a spoiled child who can't get his way?"

Ozpin rolled his eyes and didn't bother replying, instead turning his attention to the teenage shop owner as he withdrew the canisters containing both beans that needed to be ground to make his house blend once more. "You seem a bit more... sluggish today, Akira. Are you doing alright?"

"I'm fine," Akira shrugged his shoulders as he pursed his lips, not feeling the need to admit that he was running on less than four hours of sleep, "Thank you for your concern."

"As you say," Ozpin dropped the subject, knowing that Akira was not the type to talk about his personal life, no matter how much the gray haired man probed him for answers, "I see that you've gotten yourself an employee."

"I did," The frizzy haired teenager admitted while glancing at Blake over his shoulder as she continued to wash the dishes dirtied by their customers before returning his attention to the three sitting at his counter, "She's a quick learner. She also plans on attending Beacon, so please play nice with your future student."

Ozpin laughed lightly at the stern expression Akira wore, especially when it melted away into a small, playful smile. Seeing the green haired man raise his hand as if he were a child waiting to be called upon, Akira gestured for him to speak while tilting his head slightly.

"What is the strongest blend you have?" 'Bart' questioned quickly, his words blending together to the point Akira couldn't tell where one ended and the next began.

"Hm.." Akira intoned as he turned and glanced at his large selection of beans before reaching up and pulling the only container from the top shelf, "Give me just a moment.."

Taking his canister with him, Akira made his way to his room before returning shortly after with a pamphlet in his hand.

"While I would love to just brew this whenever requested, it does come with certain risks," Akira spoke softly as he leaned against the back shelf, "Beyond a waiver, I have here a little invitation to a program I want to start. Do you like cold-brew coffee, sir?"

"I love _all_ coffee, even the dirt that Glynda keeps ordering," Bartholomew chattered excitedly, nearly leaping from his seat at the ridiculousness of the question, "What type of program, good sir?"

"A delivery of my house-blend every morning, bottled cold after the grounds are immersed for half a day as well as enough fresh roasted grounds to brew a pot that taste's like heaven." Akira laid out his pitch, seeing as he finally had a few customers that might have the money for such daily deliveries through rocket-mail, "I have a few bottles if you'd like to try them, on the house."

"Like to try them? I'd _love_ to try them." The man spoke slowly and so passionately that Akira was almost moved, "Please, don't tease me, let's get this process going so I can get my fix!"

"Read this and sign at the bottom," The frizzy haired teen slid the paper across his counter before setting the large, air-tight jar before him and leaning forward, "If you wish for something a bit weaker, just let me know."

"No, no, this is fine, _fantastic,_ " The man quickly agreed after going over the information printed across the sheet, "Is all of this accurate?"

"It is," Akira nodded while standing straight once more, watching as the green haired faculty member of Beacon signed his name rapidly before Akira could change his mind, "Welcome to the Coffee Cult... Doctor Oobleck?"

" _Superb!_ I've always wanted to join a cult, and to find one dedicated to my favorite thing on Remnant is even better! This shall be a learning experience, come Glynda, Ozpin, join with me!"

He ignored the sounds of both Ozpin and his companion Glynda palming their face in exasperation and instead turned away to hide the incredulous look on his face. How cheerful the green haired man sounded about the name he created for his program as a joke was almost too much to handle, even for him.

'What the hell is _wrong_ with this world?'

 **[PL]**

Akira placed his right hand in his pocket as he made his way towards the large garage a few blocks away from Leblanc Deux named Unlucky Sevens, his eyes drawn downwards to his Scroll as he walked. He ignored the whispers as he passed, hearing quite a few voices he recognized as customers as he thumbed through the information flitting across his screen.

Browsing the map of Vale, he began to select different coordinates to save into his GPS synced with the internal Scroll components of his helmet and visor. Having a HUD in real life certainly helped him get around town better than having to stop and look at his phone when he got lost, especially when he could put way-markers wherever he pleased. One tap on his scroll and it would show up in the top right corner of his visor on a mini-map of Vale.

Styled with two large cat ears resting atop its crown, the only other decorations on his sleek, black helmet were the roman numerals for thirteen inscribed upon the right temple in jagged lettering and a stylized skull and crossbones with Queen's mask upon his left. His entire outfit had been changed from his sleek suit and instead resembled something Makoto would have swore she hated but secretly loved.

A slim leather coat covered his torso with only a loose, short sleeve shirt designed to look like his prisoner outfit beneath it. Instead of suit pants, he instead wore black jeans tucked into tall, black riding boots that laced and buckled to remain secure against his feet.

Turning to his right and making his way up the set of stairs beside the entrance to the garage, he soon came to a halt before a large black and red bike that could have been ripped straight from a Sci-Fi film he and Futaba had binge watched in the past. Quite a bit of Lien was pushed into the project, but it was well worth it.

Using Johanna as a base design, from what he could remember about Makoto's Persona anyway, he eventually convinced one of the best garages in Vale to take on his project.

He was very glad they weren't 'racist', even if 'speciest' would be the correct term to use, taking on his project and taking his business with ease. Living and working just a few blocks away from Leblanc made it all the better as he didn't exactly have anywhere to park it at his cafe, not yet anyway.

It also helped that three of the mechanics who took on his project had frequented his cafe for the 'best damn curry they've ever had', as they so boldly declare every time they visit and take their first bite. It turns out that quite a few Vacuoan immigrants, Human and Faunus alike, had started spreading the word to their friends and family about the sweet and spicy meals that could have put their own chefs back home to shame.

It brought a smile to his face, knowing that he could keep up the 'family' business, even here in Hell. If he were honest, he was almost starting to _like_ Remnant and the odd pizzazz that everything seemed to carry. The problem was, he didn't _want_ to like it.

"Oh, Akira, going for another ride?" Called a voice to his right, stopping him from mounting the bike and taking off, "How did she do last night?"

"As beautiful as I remember, if not better," Akira answered smoothly while slipping his helmet on and raising the visor to speak, "You did fantastic work with her. Did you enjoy the little thank you dish I whipped up?"

"Hell yeah I did!" The mechanic shouted while turning and giving him a thumbs up, "Speaking of, I need to get back in there and reheat the leftovers before Aubrey or Tesla can get to them, thanks for reminding me!"

"No problem," Akira waved while tilting his head, not understanding just how violent they seemed to get over his curry, "See you."

Ignoring the shouting that erupted from the kitchen as he started the large, armored bike and pulled out of the garage, Akira was soon rounding the corner and weaving into traffic almost flawlessly.

He had no particular destination in mind as he cruised around the city, taking in the beautiful sights and neon lights as he passed beneath some of the larger and finer establishments that Vale offered.

In the four months that he had been in Vale, he had yet to come across quite a few different businesses that had been prevalent in Tokyo to the point he was considering opening a second business on the side to capitalize on the lack of competition.

It would take a bit of time for him to solidify any sort of contract for potential employees, let alone have enough resources and time to dedicate to an extra undertaking, but the idea was there none the less.

Akira was going to open up the first official 'maid service' in Vale, and he was going to hire as many foxy ladies, quite literally, as he could. It was no secret that between their lifestyles and schedules, most Huntsmen and Huntresses don't have time to spend housekeeping when returning home from a long foray into the Grimmlands. Some civilians lived equally as hectic schedules, leaving little time for laundry, cooking, cleaning or other menial chores, allowing for the opportunity to have someone do it for them for a price.

As someone who hired his _teacher_ to be his personal maid and the rather close relationship the two established, Akira wasn't scared to start the same business up once more. It was true that Sadayo, or just Kawakami and sometimes _Becky_ , didn't exactly like her job, but it paid well enough to keep her going on top of her teachers salary, even while being extorted by scum like the Takase's.

Not only would this allow him to further help those in need of work in the Faunus and Human populations alike, but also provide a second source of income as well.

Seeing as most of the work would be done away from Leblanc Deux, it wouldn't be a problem in having to worry about having a headquarters, so to speak, considering it was a mobile and on the site type of job.

That all being said, Akira knew the risks that such an occupation opened up for the women who provided services for the lonely or lazy, especially for the men and women who believed that the women were nothing more than finely dressed prostitutes.

It couldn't be further from the truth, considering that even Kawakami hadn't sank that low in her years of working as a maid on the side, though she came dangerously close to it before Akira finally involved himself in her affairs.

He didn't want to lose his favorite maid or teacher, not when the alternative was seeing her turn into exactly what she feared she would end up becoming due to her guilt.

Thinking about her brought back fond memories and soon, Akira was laughing as he thought about the monstrous fish that she had caught whenever he and Ryuji stumbled upon her while searching for the perfect spot to fish themselves.

He didn't mind being served sushi that night, not when she had so obviously put in as much effort as she had. Akira wasn't so sure what the big deal about the fish was, or the significance of it, but he _did_ know it tasted freaking great.

Thinking about fish made him salivate, breaking him from his thoughts as he once more crushed the growing addiction he had to anything and everything fishy. It may have stemmed from his diet and lifestyle, considering he _was_ Japanese, but it may have also come from the feline habits he found himself slowly developing as he became more and more comfortable with his body.

Sighing heavily as he failed to crush the desire for fresh tuna, he came to a halt at a stop sign and whipped his scroll from his jacket pocket before imputing a new way-point for the fish market close to where he delivered his left overs every night.

Seeing as he could kill two birds with one stone at this point, he turned and made his way back to Leblanc Deux to pick up the rest of the white rice, red curry and tea.

Pulling up to his shop, he was almost surprised to see Blake sitting at the counter with Gambol Shroud broken down to be cleaned and detailed.

Turning her head, she almost jumped to her feet while reaching for a weapon currently disassembled before he raised his hand and flipped his visor.

Tilting his brow, Akira couldn't help the snarky comment that escaped his lips. "What's the matter, scaredy cat? Surprised?"

"I wasn't expecting you back so soon is all, thought you were a robber. What's with the outfit?" Blake eventually settled herself back into her chair at the counter, ignoring the small smile of amusement on Akira's face at having caught her off guard, "I didn't take you as someone into the bondage scene."

"Har, har, you're so funny," Akira drawled as he made his way towards the kitchen while grabbing his large duffel bag, "I needed something that offered more protection just in case I take a spill on my bike, and I look damn good in leather."

Blake didn't exactly jump to deny his words, but he could tell by her unamused look that she didn't appreciate his comment. He ignored the fact that he caught her checking out his backside and made his way to the door after loading up the last of the leftovers and setting his duffel bag over his shoulder.

"I shouldn't be too long. Sleep well, if I don't make it back before you turn in." He called over his shoulder as he shut the door, not waiting around to hear if she bothered replying or not.

Setting himself back onto his bike, Akira was off once more, unaware of the amber eyes that followed him down the street from the window of Leblanc Deux.

"That boy is _dangerous_ ," Blake whispered to herself lowly as she made her way back to the counter, "I knew he had a nice ass, but that was just... wow."

Blake really needed to get another copy of Ninjas of Love, Akira was giving her withdraws and he didn't even have to _try_.

'Shit like this is what makes me read smut.'


	5. Modern Day Cain

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **5,**_ _ **Modern Day Cain**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _Yet again, Milton, you **have** to be a wizard or something. Akira's name translates to either Vessel of Dawn, or Bringer of Dawn. Take from that what you will, wink wink, nudge nudge. _

_Teamkyuubi13, you, my friend, get a cookie, because Kingpin!Akira is certainly something I was heading towards. We are still a month before canon starts, so I think we have plenty of time to show just how connected he will become before we even get to the fun arcs I have planned. He may or may not also end up recruiting the list of females you happened to name within his organization upon getting involved in the events of volumes 1 and 2._

 _Thank you for the patience, ThatGuyReturns, you're freakin awesome for sticking around with me this long. Everyone here is freaking awesome, but you get the idea._

 _Lucem, you aren't far off from the target, actually. A gun shop was an idea I was bouncing around, but one I know I couldn't pass up would be an actual hot springs. Akira needs an onsen to stay super fresh, dontchya know._

 _On the subject of pairings, I'm not actually sure which direction I want to take this. I seem to make my stories lean towards harems more often than not, unsurprisingly. That all said, I actually want to hear everyones opinions on the pairing/s, if there even will be one. Akira **is** a 'Pimpsona' protag, even one that was viciously beaten on valentines day for being a manslut. _

_Also, his outfit and bike were, indeed, inspired by Celty and the bike in the movie 'Akira', damn good catches there you guys. There was a picture of Morgana in a human form dressed in all leather and smoking a cigar, and I couldn't help but think that it would suit Akira damn well, especially considering he can't summon his 'Joker' outfit without the presence of the Metaverse._

 **[PL]**

Akira glanced down at the list in his hands and back up at his shopping cart in dismay, unable to find the last few ingredients he needed to bake a large batch of coffee cakes for in the morning. He continued to wander the store, glancing at every shelf twice before finally giving up.

'I should really get those automatic deliveries set up, this is stupid.' Akira griped in his head before rounding the last corner in the grocery store he stopped at on his way back from the fish market. He stopped short after glancing up from his scroll once more, seeing a flash of pink and brown in his vision, standing just before one of the large freezers where they kept the ice cream.

Tilting his head slightly as he watched a rather short woman attempt to knock down a tub of ice cream on the top shelf with her parasol, he eventually made his way around and reached up to grab it for her. Passing her the tub of Neapolitan ice cream, he walked back to his buggy and continued on his way without saying a word, unaware of the furrowed brows of the diminutive figure as she waved to get his attention.

A few moments later, Akira made his way out of the grocery store after putting away his purchases in his duffel bag before stopping dead in his tracks. Sitting upon the back of his bike was the same small woman whom he passed the ice cream to, casually eating said ice cream directly from the tub.

"May I help you?" Akira questioned as if she wasn't currently preventing him from leaving, his voice smooth and controlled.  
The woman continued to eat her ice cream and ignored him completely, focusing solely on making sure that each bite of her snack held all three flavors on her golden spoon before devouring the ice cream almost sensually.

Akira popped his hip slightly and continued waiting patiently before even he grew tired of her game. "If you don't mind, I have places to be, please remove yourself from my bike."

The brown and pink haired female finally looked up and glanced at him before feigning shock, as if she hadn't known he was there or heard him speak. She gestured vaguely with her hand in a so so motion instead of speaking, causing Akira to tilt his head in confusion.

"You do mind removing yourself from my bike? Look, lady, if you want a ride, I'll be glad to take you where you need to go, otherwise I'm going to remove you myself." Akira tried his next option, seeing as she didn't want to remove herself, "So there you go, get off, tell me where you need to go or prepare yourself to be removed."

The tri-toned woman raised both of her brows as if confused before her light smile grew more sinister, almost challenging. Taking the last bite of her ice cream and tossing the tub into the trashcan not far from where Akira parked, she licked her golden spoon clean suggestively before reaching into her coat, withdrawing a carrying case and storing her eating utensil away.

Eventually, she scooted back as far as she could on his seat before patting it invitingly, blinking three times as if saying pretty please.

Akira did a quick check of his person, feeling the weight of his fifty caliber handgun and hidden dagger secure beneath his coat and within his reach. Akira didn't know why he was humoring her, honesty. It may tie in to the fact he thought she was sort of cute. He didn't get the same impression as he did from Tae, but he couldn't help but think her Arcana would be Death.

That set him on edge, period.

"Where do you need to go?" Akira questioned after a second, resting his weight upon his right leg while popping his hip slightly in agitation, "Are you mute or something?"

He wasn't expecting for her to shrug her shoulders and then nod her head almost sullenly to his two questions. Suppressing a wince, Akira made to apologize for his rather rude question before she raised her hand casually and gestured towards his seat again.

'Ugh, what are you doing Akira? You got fish to eat!' He scolded himself internally before he took his seat and did his best to ignore the way the strange girl wrapped her hands around his waist,  
"What's your name, anyway?"

She fished out a Scroll from between her breasts before bringing it around to his face.

 _'N.e.o.'_

Akira nodded before tapping his helmet, "You can sync up and pick a spot on the map, I'll give you temporary access."

 _'What else can that helmet do? HUD, messenger?'_

'You can type and I'll see it appear in a messenger, sure." Akira spoke before starting his bike and preparing to pull off, "Also, hold on tight, please, I don't have a spare helmet."

He turned and glanced when he heard shattering glass, only to find her in an outfit just like his, helmet and all, only more feminine and in brown, pink and white. He raised a brow at the sudden change in outfit, but kept his mouth shut. Who was he to judge on sudden outfit changes, after all?

 _'Alright, Kitty, let's see what you're made of.'_ Neo's message taunted him as it flashed across his visor, causing him to smile almost as sinisterly as she had. If she wanted a ride, he was going to give her one she'd never forget, or want, ever again.

An hour later and Akira finally gave up trying.

It didn't work.

Akira wasn't sure how, but his attempt at scaring the diminutive woman had failed spectacularly. She tapped his shoulder excitedly as he leaned steeply to the right to help him swing around an eighteen wheeler in a wide arc before cutting through traffic before it.

Sometime in between picking up his groceries and the stray known as _Neo_ , Akira had participated in no less than three street races as he streaked through the city and all along the outskirts in the span of an hour. Having started setting way points after a few minutes of silent cruising, Neo proved to be a great navigator as she pointed out shortcuts through every street that didn't show up on the official map app released by the government.

Some time in between the first race and the second, Akira had started to liven up and cheer wildly as he cleared different jumps that would have destroyed a normal bike easily. Neo, being the good sport she was, had cheered in her own way each time he did as if supporting his foolish driving.

The Adrenalin rush he was currently coming down from made his hands quake a bit, but he steadied them and continued on until finally pulling around to the spot Neo placed as her final way-point.

Pulling up slowly and coming to a rest, Neo slinked forward and hugged him from behind before climbing off the bike and sauntering a few steps away before turning and glancing at him over her shoulder.

When Akira made eye contact with her, she waggled her brows and reached between her breasts to remove her Scroll before waving it at him as if to say 'I'll be in touch'.

The frizzy haired teenager nodded his head after a moment and revved the engine of his bike before lifting his visor and calling out before pulling off. "By the way, those Lien cards are spent, thanks for taking them off my hands."

Neo stopped and looked back with slightly wide eyes, watching him leave while cursing in her head about being caught so easily.

'How did he know?' Neo thought to herself before shaking her head and patting her pocket where she knew her own money was. She stopped a few moments later and tapped her pocket again, this time a bit quicker and harsher before the expression on her face became carefully blank.

Somehow, the biker named Akira had not only caught her trying to pick his pocket, but had turned around and picked hers as well. If he was to be believed, then he obviously made off with the better haul.

She was both upset and impressed at once.

 **[PL]**

Akira leaned against his counter lazily as he cleaned his glasses and placed them back on his face, doing his best to keep himself from falling asleep where he stood. It was just a few minutes before closing and he was tempted to lock the doors early, but withheld and stood his ground.

The chime of his door drew his attention as a rather tall woman wearing a hoodie and glasses walked through the doors before glancing around almost nervously as she took in the lack of other patrons within Leblanc Deux.

Blake had called it a day early and made her way to Tukson's just fifteen minutes prior, leaving him to watch his shop alone for the first time in a few days. He almost missed the company, but he knew he shouldn't grow too used to having her around considering she would be leaving for Beacon a month from the previous day.

"Hello, welcome to Leblanc Deux. What can I get for you, ma'am?" Akira questioned lightly, doing his best to hide the grogginess in his voice and slightly failing. He reached down and grasped the bottle of cold-brew coffee before knocking it back gently, taking a small swig of the dark elixir that had kept him going throughout the day before returning it to the counter.

"Er, hello to you, too," Came her response as the hooded woman set herself down at the counter, "May I have a vanilla latte with two small cakes, please?"

"Coming right up, ma'am," Akira nodded and made his way into the kitchen proper to get started before speaking up once more, "If you don't mind me asking, would it be possible to lower your hood? I like to be able to see who I'm speaking with."

"Oh... certainly," The woman responded after a second before raising two shaky hands to her hood and lowering it slowly, revealing striking, crimson hair that spilled down her back, "I apologize, I tend to try and avoid being seen in public, but I couldn't help but stop by now that there aren't any other customers."

"Really now," Akira tilted a brow at her admission, turning his eyes back to her to get a better look, "Why is that?"

"I am rather well known, and it gets a bit..." The way she trailed off, Akira could tell that is was slightly uncomfortable admitting any sort of weakness.

"Overwhelming? Yeah, I think I might get that," Akira nodded before shrugging his shoulders lightly, "You don't have to worry about that here. See the sign hanging above the door?"

The crimson haired woman turned and glanced at the sign, only to turn back to Akira just as quickly. She didn't speak, instead pursing her lips slightly before reaching up to remove her glasses, revealing emerald green eyes that seemed to sparkle in the light.

"We're all equals here, hmm? I like that," The woman nodded after a few seconds as if affirming something with herself, "My name is Pyrrha, may I ask yours?"

"Akira, it's a pleasure to meet you, miss Pyrrha." Akira didn't act as if he recognized her name, causing her to tilt her head to the side at the lack of recognition.

"Do you... not know who I am?" The redhead questioned slowly, as if she didn't know what to make of not being known, "Really?"

"Nope," Akira popped the ending of the word while turning his attention back to making sure that he measured out the correct amount of sweetened milk to be steamed for her drink, "I apologize, but I don't keep up with people unless they're customers. If it helps, I never forget those who walk through those doors, especially if they're as pretty as you."

"I see," Pyrrha didn't seem at all displeased by his admission, instead perking up instantly with a light blush crossing her cheeks at his bold compliment, "How old are you, if you don't mind me asking? You seem too young to be working this late alone, don't you have school?"

Akira laughed lightly while firing up his espresso machine once more before turning to prepare the vanilla syrup for mixing, shaking his head in the negative after a moment.

"Not quite. I own this cafe." Akira turned and made his way back to the counter before leaning against his usual spot once more, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited patiently for the milk to finish steaming, "I turned seventeen last month, if you must know, so I'm legally an adult now either way."

"Oh, I apologize for presuming, I didn't mean to offend." Pyrrha tried to quickly amend her statements upon seeing his tense posture, only for him to raise a hand to halt her apology.

"It's fine, I get it a lot." Akira gave her a suave smile that seemed to melt the words from her mouth, preventing her from speaking further as the two settled into a comfortable silence for a few seconds.

"Here, let me get those cakes for you, the espresso should be done brewing any second now." Akira moved quickly in preparing her drink, a bit more pep in his movements than before due to having a customer present.

A few seconds later, Pyrrha was sipping the most wonderful latte she had ever drank in her life while trying her best not to coo at the cat-head shaped coffee cakes decorated with crimson whipped cream he placed before her. She almost didn't want to eat them, admiring them from almost every angle before eventually biting through the right ear of the cat-head shaped cake.

She stopped chewing a second later, her eyes widening before darting between Akira and the cake in her hand before she dipped the cake in her latte and took another small bite. Moaning lowly under her breath, Pyrrha slowly sank further into her seat at the counter, ignoring the knowing smile that Akira was giving her as she did.

' _Is this what I've been missing out on? Mistrali coffee shops are nothing like this!'_ Pyrrha was almost unable to wrap her mind around how smooth the texture and taste of the cake and latte were, having been a frequent customer in one of the more well known coffee shops back in her home Kingdom.

Glancing at the owner of the cafe quickly, Pyrrha did her best to memorize his features without seeming like a creeper, though she obviously failed when he caught her eye and gave her a small smile before turning his attention back to cleaning up for closing time.

From how casually he seemed to act, Pyrrha could only assume that he was a natural at getting people to relax around him, especially with how tense she had been when she first entered his shop and how loose her shoulders felt in their sockets now.

The redhead silently promised herself to come back before closing as much as she could, finally finding somewhere she could unwind without worrying about people crowding her for her signature or showering her with affection. "Would you mind if I came by right before closing again? I don't want to keep you open later than usual, but it has been nice, being able to relax without my rather... zealous fans breathing down my neck."

"I'll make sure to lock up whenever you stop by so you can enjoy yourself." Akira gave her a smile that could have melted an iceberg in seconds, causing her breath to quicken slightly as yet another dusting of pink crossed her cheeks.

' _Oh no,'_ Pyrrha lamented, unable to stop herself from immediately wanting to see his smile once more, _'H_ _e's too smooth! Abort, abort_ _!_ '

The redhead left his shop a few minutes later, having finished her latte and cakes in peace with company she found she didn't mind in the least. The small take-out bag filled with different flavored and shaped cakes was clutched tightly in her hand, a parting gift from Akira as thanks for allowing him to keep the photograph he took of her.

She had been holding her latte and staring off into space as she absorbed the atmosphere of the cafe, unaware of just how relaxed she had become before she heard the sound of shutters snapping. Akira sheepishly apologized, admitting that he had a habit of trying to capture aesthetic moments with his Scroll whenever he felt they came without thinking about it. Pyrrha admired his honesty and after seeing the photo, quickly agreed to allow him to have it framed and hung up somewhere in the shop to celebrate his first 'celebrity' visit.

Pyrrha believed she came off with the better end of the bargain by far.

 **[PL]**

Setting himself down gingerly at the end of the rather old pier near the edge of the Emerald Forest outside of Beacon once more, Akira ignored the groggy cloud that settled over his body as he lazily cast his reel into the water once more.

Watching the bobber attached to his fishing line float on the surface of the deep river that bisected the kingdom of Vale, Akira began to lose himself in his thoughts as he always did while fishing.

He sorely missed his fishing partners, Ryuji and Kawakami both, but found that even with so many reminders that kept slapping him in the face, he couldn't just put down one of the few hobbies he had to remind him of his time in Tokyo.

Every few minutes, he would gently reel in his line little by little before recasting it when it came too close to shore to catch the attention of the fish he _knew_ were there. "Don't think about catching the fish, think about everything else, Akira."

He remembered the advice Kawakami had given him as the two wasted time sitting side by side in Ichigaya and did his best to emulate his master fisherman of a teacher and maid.

Akira failed spectacularly, reeling in a fish that could hardly qualify as a fish due to the black and white mask upon its face and the crimson eyes that glared back at him hatefully.

Raising his brows in confusion, Akira studied the first Grimm he had actually ever seen in person, bringing it closer to his face before it lashed out and slapped him twice with its tail fin. Growling lowly, Akira reached into his coat and withdrew his pistol modeled after a Desert Eagle and opened fire twice, blasting through the skull and torso of the Grimm-fish before it flopped from his fishing line and began to disappear into ash.

"Stupid demon fish, who do you think you are, slapping _me_?" Akira questioned the dead Grimm as if it could still hear him before pulling his fishing hook close to re-bait it and cast it into the river once more, "This is bullshit, I bet even Ryuji would have caught something edible by now."

Akira ignored the growling he heard a few moments after his encounter with the Grimm-fish, having thought it was just his stomach making its hunger known until it repeated itself a few seconds later in his ear.

Moving his body out of the way of the swinging claws he heard tearing through the air, Akira once more held his gun at the ready as he tossed down his fishing pole and put some distance in between his opponent and himself.

'A beowulf, then?' Akira questioned himself, remembering the many different creatures he had studied during his time at Tukson's in an effort to familiarize himself with Remnant, 'The rest must still be hiding.'

The frizzy haired teenager knew that Beowulves never traveled alone, preferring to attack in waves to take down their targets. Pulling lightly upon the internal power coursing through his body, azure flames flickered to life and began to pour from his eyes as he readied himself for his first fight in quite some time.

Breathing steadily, Akira waited for the Beowulf to lunge once more before smoothly dodging around the swiping claws aimed at his throat and retaliating with a round to the face. The Beowulf was forced back from the explosion caused by his round detonating on its mask, having been a mixture of Burn and Shock Dust as propellents with Gravity Dust acting as the slug.

It had taken a few months of tinkering with the measurements before Akira was confident that his homemade ammunition would function as intended instead of exploding before it could clear the barrel of his heavily customized pistol. While he had yet to even attempt in seeing if he had the potential to wield 'Aura', as the natives called their strange power based upon the soul, Akira had taken to other means of enhancing his firepower, so to speak.

Flicking a button upon the handle of his solid black handgun, he flipped the barrel to stand vertical before it locked into place and split into two down the middle, allowing the hidden blade built into the handgun to protrude from within his weapon. The blade slid out into its full length, revealing a ten inch long dagger that looked to be a mix of a tanto and a combat knife, a mixture of two of Akira's favorite styles of knives.

Akira was in motion as his weapon transformed and the moment his pistol had successfully deployed its blade, he stabbed downwards into the eye socket of the Beowulf before spinning on his heel and delivering an upwards stab through the jaw of the next lunging beast of shadows.

Both quickly fell to the ground and began to disappear into ash, a sight that reminded Akira far too much of how the Phantom Thieves had faded away.

Using the eyesight granted to him by his transition into a Faunus, if he even _was_ a Faunus, Akira was able to make out multiple Beowulves attempting to slink through the shadows to sneak up upon him.

"You know, Haru was definitely onto something," Akira admitted as he called upon Kaguya once more, allowing her to manifest as a phantom behind his back, "This _is_ therapeutic."

Screams of anger and pain soon filled the forest, as did the maniacal laughter of a man in serious need of sleep.

Ozpin watched from his office as portions of the Emerald Forest light up bright white for scant seconds before it would fade, only to repeat the process further along the rather random path whoever was slaughtering Grimm seemed to follow. Raising his brows, he brought up the cameras within the forest, attempting to locate whom he assumed to be a troubled student of his, only to nearly drop his mug of coffee upon catching sight of the culprit.

"So I was right after all... I must say, you had me fooled for a moment, Akira, but I've caught you red handed now." Ozpin laced his fingers before his face as he watched the blue torrents of flames continue to pour from Akira's now crimson and golden eyes as he dashed through the forest, seemingly _chasing_ a crowd of fleeing Beowulves as they fled from him in terror.

"I could have sworn you were a man, though. How peculiar."


	6. Call Me Devil

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ __ _ **6,**_ _ **Call Me Devil**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _No worries Midnight, you can't really force someone like Akira to do something against his will unless you have major blackmail on him. There is no way he will be attending Beacon, willingly or unwillingly._

 _Deathreapsonce, I was actually referring to Exalted when I mentioned my Magnum Opus, but this story may eventually end up surpassing my best work yet. We shall see! C:_

 _Crossovernaru, He has access to other Persona as well, Kaguya is just who he has been linked with since awakening in Vale. We shall be seeing more of his other Persona eventually, whenever we get into the portions of the story that would require actual firepower to be used._

 _While Akira is a pretty flamboyant master thief with a penchant for the dramatic, he is also someone who operated outside of the public's eye while only revealing his works at the end. Much like Minato in Exalted, don't expect this version of Akira to explain anything about his abilities until it is absolutely necessary, if ever. A man has to have his secrets, especially when he knows that revealing said secrets would drag him away from his peace and quiet._

 _No worries Metal Vibe, Akira will end up making male friends soon. To be more specific, you can expect scenes with people like Sun, Neptune and Qrow whenever it comes time for them to make their appearance._

 _Droffatsstafford, sorry friend, you know I don't just throw people together and call them a couple. I usually don't even focus on such things and let the characters develop 'naturally' so to speak, if that makes sense. Don't expect me to try and pair Akira with someone like Watts, because that just wouldn't happen in the first place. There are quite a few characters that I feel wouldn't even consider dating someone like Akira, let alone joining a harem._

 _There are indeed reasons on why his Persona are not exactly visible to the public. The rules of Reality on Remnant are very different from the rules of Reality on Earth, so it's to be expected that his Persona will function slightly different than they did back in Tokyo. All of this will be explained as the story continues._

 _To my wizard friend Milton, no worries, I caught you're name the first time you posted. I love the irony of you choosing the authors last name of the original Paradise Lost! The title of the previous chapter was actually a reference to a song from a band called 'I don't know how but they found me'. Long ass name, I know, but they have some cool music for being kinda weird._

 _Ozpin is actually under the assumption that Akira is a Maiden and now thinks that he is only pretending to be male to throw off peoples trail. At this point, Amber is still alive and the Fall Maiden, as I believe that she was attacked only days before Beacon let in, hence why Ozpin was so distracted during the welcoming speech._

 _ThatGuyReturns, damn it, now **I** am imagining the very same scene! _

_Thank you Zuskado, I appreciate all of your support!_

 _Simple405, I'm glad to see you show up for every chapter! I am not sure about pairing Pyrrha with Akira, it all depends on how they develop I suppose. I see that you have a great eye for references, keep it up my friend!_

 _To my friend the Guest, I didn't mean to imply that he and Haru were an item, but I could see where it might be construed as such. TBH, I had a different idea on who his previous lover was, but I suppose it doesn't really matter considering where he is now._

 _Thank you for sticking around with me, and here is to hoping you all continue to do so!_

 **[PL]**

Akira sighed almost sadly as he rose from his large bathtub while wrapping a towel around his waist, unable to relax in the least, despite just how tired and sore he was. While he had gone as far as adding mugwort to his bath water, it hadn't quite been enough to kill the ache he felt all the way down to his bones.

Walking to the sink a few feet away, Akira placed his hands on the counter while leaning forward slightly to get a better look at himself before shaking his head. Slitted pupils had replaced his previously human, rounded pupils, another sign of the changes his body had gone through before arriving in Remnant.

The set of extra-large feline ears atop his head flicked twice when he felt a drop of water roll into his inner ear, causing him to tilt his head to the side and try and shake it out. More water ended up entering his ear, causing him to give up on his efforts until he was able to dry his hair.

Running his hand along his jawline, the frizzy haired teenager frowned at the severe lack of his ability to grow facial hair. He didn't really _want_ to grow a beard, but having the ability to do so would have been nice.

Akira continued to stare at his reflection for a moment before calling upon his connection with his Persona, causing blue flares of power to erupt from his eyes and cascade backwards away from his face almost in the shape of his mask. The ethereal energy gently wafted from his skin and dissipated only a few inches from his skin, breaking away into nothingness before his very eyes and bleeding into the air around him.

No matter how many times he called upon his abilities, Akira couldn't quite get used to the strange sight of blue flames billowing from his eyes like tears in a high, buffering wind.

Allowing his 'mana', as he called the energy granted by his usage of Persona, to settle once more, his crimson eyes faded to charcoal gray once more.

Reaching to the back of the toilet, Akira fumbled around for a second before slowly bringing his head around to glance for the clothing he could have sworn he brought with him to change into after his shower.

There wasn't a single article of clothing within the bathroom.

Akira cursed beneath his breath and proceeded to dry his body quickly before wrapping his towel around his waist once more and making for the door, only to pause for a moment just before he grasped the handle.

"Please don't be home, please don't be home, please don't be home." Akira chanted beneath his breath as he braced himself and flung the door open before attempting to dash towards his room.

He failed, just as he feared he would, in a way he would never forget.

"Oof!" Akira grunted as he felt his body collide with something before he was sent sprawling. Despite his immaculate balance, he felt someone wrap their arms around him just as he collided with them before he was pulled down against his will. "Oh-"

'No, no, no, no, no no no no!' He almost started having a nervous breakdown immediately, knowing there was only _one_ person who could have possibly been in his home this late. Despite how close the two had become over the past few months, he knew it wasn't Tukson due to how occupied the man had become with his lover.

Despite his prayers, or maybe _due_ to his prayers, Akira felt the body of his current housemate squirming beneath his rather broad frame, both in shock and slight discomfort. Either of her hands were wrapped firmly around his waist due to her attempt to prevent herself from falling after he collided heavily with her in his rush to get to his room.

It was a familiar and unfamiliar feeling at once.

With both hands placed on either side of her head, Akira opened his eyes to find himself almost nose to nose with his fellow black haired Faunus.

"I'm sorry," Akira attempted to apologize, cringing slightly in embarrassment as he pushed his weight upwards to stand and remove himself from lying atop her body, "I... thought I was home alone."

Blake didn't say anything, instead trying to process that the man she had developed conflicting feelings towards was laying prone over her in nothing but a towel. She couldn't stop herself from allowing her gaze to travel lower than his face, taking in her first glimpse of what laid beneath his suit.

Like a woman dying of dehydration, she drank in the sights of his sculpted body greedily. The deep valleys on either side of his hip that led to his 'Treasure' caught her attention almost immediately, still hidden behind the white towel held firmly beneath her grasp. She didn't realize that her hands had nearly grasped his backside, causing Blake to correct her wandering appendages slightly by moving them further up his waist.

It never crossed her mind to just remove her hands from his body completely.

Looking back up to his face with a furious blush, she stumbled over whatever words she was about to say when he shot her a raised brow while glancing down himself.

"You mind giving me my towel back," Akira questioned, the warmth of his breath tickling her cheeks as he leaned over a bit further to take the tension off the only piece of cloth hiding his modesty at that point, "Or are you trying to get a free show as well?"

"If I am?" Blake tried to speak but it came out as almost a whimper, her hair nearly standing on end upon feeling his body warmth suffusing downwards, "Sounds almost like an offer to me."

Akira would have laughed if he wasn't sure the extra motion would doom him to flashing his current housemate. Instead, he settled for leaning in until his lips were barely centimeters from hers. Their eyes locked as his grin grew wider before he spoke once more.

" _You couldn't handle all of this."_

With that, he rose and made his way to his room with a bit of pep in his step. Reaching for his door handle, he paused only long enough to shoot her a small glance over her shoulder and a flirtatious wink before shutting the door behind him.

Blake let out a shaky breath as she tried to rise from her position on her back, only for her legs to refuse to budge. She turned her amber gaze to the bedroom door that just shut, unblinking and filled with obvious intent.

"Now I remember why I quit reading smut... _fuck._ "

She slept well that night, haunted by the thought of her boss and landlord feeding her while wearing nothing but a towel.

 **[PL]**

Blake sighed as she sat herself down beside Akira at the counter of his cafe, another day having passed in peace for the two. She had planned on wandering the city once more to familiarize herself with where she would be spending her next four years, but Akira had caught her just before she could leave.

Turning her amber gaze towards her housemate and boss, she couldn't stop the rather lewd scene that started to play out in her head before she ruthlessly crushed the stray thoughts and instead focused on the reason he stopped her in the first place.

"What's this about, Akira? You seem more reserved than usual." Blake propped her jaw up in her right hand while tracing small circles upon the counter with her left, "If this is about last night, I'm not upset with you."

"No, I didn't figure you were," Akira turned and gave her his patented knowing smile before shrugging his shoulders, "It's pretty hard for me to ask this, but..."

He paused and glanced down at the counter before eventually shaking his head in the negative and turning to face her fully.

"I need to have my aura unlocked, and you are the only person I trust enough to ask besides Tukson." Akira eventually got around to spitting out the reasoning for stopping her, "I know it's a lot to ask, considering just how intimate the process is supposed to be, but I honestly don't want to ask another man to do something like this for me, if you understand my reasoning."

Blake felt her mouth drop open slightly before she snapped it shut, her lips pursing in thought as she tilted her head to the side further.

'For a second there, I almost thought...' She shook her head to banish the thought before instead forcing herself to focus once more.

Turning to consider the figure beside her, she couldn't find a reason to deny him, even if she wanted to. In the month and a half that Blake had lived with him, not once had he made any unwanted advances towards her and kept the relationship between the two strictly platonic and professional.

Despite the fact that he didn't know her from the next stranger on the street, he took her in, fed her and even paid her for her work, allowing her to save up quite a sum of Lien for her time at Beacon. Any time she had a question, whether it be about brewing coffee, cooking or even things unrelated to work at all, he answered her patiently and as efficiently as he could.

Not once had he asked about her past despite having every reason to worry, something she would be grateful for until the day she died. She had returned the same courtesy as a result, not once asking any of the many questions she had, despite the burning desire she had to get to know him better.

Whenever one of the rowdier customers had attempted to grope her, Akira had snatched the man by the scruff of his neck, dragged him from his spot at the counter and _threw_ him out the door without remorse while demanding he never show his face in Leblanc Deux again. He proceeded to apologize to the rest of his customers, who seemed to cheer him on upon hearing the reasoning behind physically removing the man.

Blake cheered him on as well, though silently.

That moment secured a spot in her heart meant specifically for him, and him alone. During her time in the White Fang, even her boyfriend and mentor, Adam Taurus, hadn't stuck up for her in such a fashion, instead telling her to grow up and deal with it herself whenever a problem arose between her and the older males within the group.

Blake wasn't used to having someone she could actually depend on, and for once, he was depending on her. She wasn't about to let him down.

"Alright," Blake stopped tracing circles upon the counter before turning to face him full on, "When did you want to do this?"

"Now, if possible," Akira looked extremely relieved upon hearing her answer, his shoulders slumping slightly as he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, "You have no idea how much this means to me, Blake."

She gave him a long, considering look before gesturing for him to stand while rising from her seat. When he rose as well, she took a step closer to him and reached upwards to place a hand upon his chest. She didn't start immediately, instead memorizing the heat of his body and allowing it to suffuse with her own, causing a tingling sensation to travel along her arm from the contact.

Taking a deep breath, Blake reached within herself and began stoking her Aura, bringing it to the surface slowly but surely. Ethereal energy shaded a beautiful purple erupted around her before settling slightly, only to grow in intensity once more as she began to speak.

" _For it is in sacrifice that we become undying,"_ Blake steadily spoke the incantation her father had used to unlock her own Aura years prior, having long since memorized the beautiful words he spoke, _"Through this, we become the light in the darkness to banish our worlds malice."_

Akira gasped loudly and nearly staggered forward as he felt his heart beat twice in his throat, his eyes burning slightly as he felt something deep within him come roaring to the surface. It was so unlike the mana he had grown used to that it couldn't possibly be confused for anything related to his Persona.

He watched as unlike when using his mana, a deep crimson energy began to shine and fade around him. The energy continued to grow stronger and fade slightly in a rhythm that seemed to sync with either of their heart-beats.

Unaware of the slightly pained expression that crossed his face as the burning sensation within his eyes grew, Blake continued on.

" _Unlimited in scope and unshackled from Fate, I release your soul and by my side, forever support thee."_ Blake felt her eyes flutter open for a moment, only to force them closed once more due to the massive, crimson light that flickered around Akira chaotically. She could feel her own aura flaring around her body as his presence continued to grow brighter and stronger until finally, it settled down and began to fade.

Breathing deeply, Blake waited until the light shining in her eyes had faded completely before attempting to open them once more.

Blearily, amber eyes locked with a bright, burning crimson before she felt her world wobble almost violently. Lurching forward, she felt Akira wrap his arms around her to prevent her from hitting the ground, easily supporting her weight within his powerful grasp.

"Are you alright?" His voice rang in her ears, causing her to nod her head after a moment while sighing deeply as she breathed in his scent.

She wasn't sure why, but she was more comfortable in the arms of Akira than she had ever been in the arms of Adam.

With that final thought, the suddenly sleepy feline Faunus fell into a deep slumber, her eyes refusing to stay open even a moment longer.

Akira glanced down at the dead weight in his arms, already knowing that she had passed out from exhaustion due to the way her breathing evened out. Reaching down and placing a hand behind her knees, the owner of Leblanc Deux picked her up bridal style and made his way for the stairs.

He felt her arms wrap tightly around his neck as she nuzzled deeper into his chest, preventing him from removing her from his body as he laid her upon her bed.

Akira tried shaking her awake, growing more and more concerned with how unresponsive she was as she groaned and forced him down with her in a surprising show of strength before rolling over and using him as a glorified pillow.

With a sigh, he reached down and pulled the thick duvet she used to keep warm at night over their bodies and decided to wait it out while allowing one of his arms to settle around her waist.

'We are both still fully clothed, so I doubt there will be a misunderstanding.' Akira rationalized to himself as he felt a wave of exhaustion roll over him, stronger than he had ever felt before, 'I hope she's okay, that must have taken a lot out of her.'

He was asleep within moments, more comfortable than he had been in months due to how used to having a sleeping partner he had become in Tokyo.

 **[PL]**

Ruby Rose liked to think she was a simple girl. She liked killing Grimm, tinkering with her baby and weapon Crescent Rose, killing Grimm, eating cookies, and her sister. And killing Grimm, can't forget that.

When she heard of the new cafe opening up in Vale, she didn't think much of it. In all honesty, she spent most of her money on ammunition and parts for her weapon anyway, so why would she bother visiting a coffee shop of all places?

She was finally convinced otherwise, however, when Yang decided to show her the menu of the cafe after having a friend of hers brag about having a new favorite drink.

Somehow, someway, the owner of the cafe had created a chocolate chip latte that was supposed to taste just like fresh baked cookies. Being the addict that she was, she started to save up a bit of money and set it aside for the next time that she and Yang went into the city from Patch.

Finally, the day had come to see what all the fuss was about. With her favorite, and only, sister as her current partner in crime, the young Huntress-in-training scoped out the busy cafe as they passed it by on the way to their favorite Dust shop to restock their supplies.

Due to the warm weather, the owner had decided to prop the door open with a crate and a pot of yellow flowers that were extremely well taken care of, leaving the smell of coffee and freshly baked cake to waft from inside.

Ruby felt her mouth immediately start watering, forcing her to speed up while dragging her sister along to finish their shopping so they can hurry up and get their drinks.

"Wow, I don't think I've seen you this excited unless it involved weapons, or cookies." Yang laughed lightly at the force Ruby was putting into dragging her along, "What's the rush, it's not like it'll be closing for another few hours."

"I don't care, I want my liquid cookie and I want it _now._ " Ruby all but growled, causing Yang to laugh at her sisters behavior once more.

The shopping hadn't taken as long as it usually did considering Ruby was in a rush, leaving the two to find themselves outside not even twenty minutes later. Pursing her lips, the young redhead led the way while dragging her sister behind her once more.

She paused as she stepped into the cafe and drank in the sights as best as she could, memorizing every little detail and committing them to memory. To her right was a photograph of seven teenagers sitting in a very similar setting to the one she was standing in now with a small table settled just beneath the picture. What appeared to be an incense holder surrounded by four crimson candles rested upon the table, two on either side of the intricately carved platform meant to catch ashes.

A counter stretched from one end of the cafe to the other, bisecting the large room slightly to give customers ample room to move around without feeling crowded. Along the counter were five seats with fluffy looking cushions that were dyed the color of blood.

Books lined the shelves next to the tables on the left, some worn and others new. The selection seemed to be rather diverse, ranging from history texts to fiction, some thick and others no larger than pamphlets.

Behind the counter were shelves lined with coffee beans and different ingredients needed to make some of the more complex coffee based drinks along with multiple different machines meant for different brewing processes.

The main thing that drew her attention, however, was the man calmly standing behind the counter dressed in black and red, much like herself. His hair was wild and stark black while his eyes were a flickering, burning crimson that were both haunting and alluring at once. He wore a thick set of glasses that seemed to make him seem almost innocent, complimented further by the small smile etched upon his face that almost made her melt with how kind it was.

He wore a mid-length blazer over a black waistcoat decorated with crimson paisley designs as well as black trousers and cuban heeled dress shoes. Beneath his blazer and waistcoat, he wore a black button down with a slim, crimson tie around his throat. The last noticeable article he wore were gloves the same shade as his tie.

Ruby thought he looked like a mix of a businessman and a crime boss, if she were honest.

"Welcome to Leblanc Deux, our special today is spicy red curry served in chicken broth with rice noodles," He spoke, his voice as rich as it was smooth, "Let me know if there's anything I can get you."

"Thank you," Ruby beamed as she made her way to the bar while releasing Yang, "I'm already ready to order though, if that's okay?"

"Of course, ma'am, what will you be having?" The frizzy haired cafe owner didn't seem bothered in the slightest, instead standing a bit straighter while making his way a bit closer to the machines as he waited for her to speak up.

Ruby didn't want to admit it, but she really liked the way he called her 'Ma'am'.

"One large cookie latte, my finely dressed friend!" Ruby leaned on the bar with a wide grin, acting almost conspiratorially as she gestured towards her sister, "One for the statue as well. Yang, are you coming in or not?"

Yang didn't answer, instead staring at Akira as if she had seen a ghost.

 **[PL]**

Yang may not have told Ruby, but she had her own reasons for visiting Leblanc Deux. Coffee wasn't exactly her thing and neither were sweets, but she didn't mind a good cuppa every now and again.

No, her reasoning for following Ruby on her adventure for cookie lattes revolved around the man who ran the cafe. One of her friends had gushed for weeks about how young and attractive the owner was, going as far as having taken pictures of him as he worked.

Now that she had seen him in person, Yang _definitely_ agreed with her friends assessment. The strange thing about it, however, was just how familiar his face and eyes were to her. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she could have sworn she saw him somewhere before.

She would have remembered seeing someone with ears as large as his, however, the two feline appendages sticking straight up from his hair and flicking left and right as different noises caught his attention.

He removed his gaze from Ruby and directed it towards her, a devilish smile on his face as he looked her from head to toe before his eyes fell upon hers once more. Yang noticed how his burning crimson gaze seemed to glance over her form in appreciation, but without an iota of lust or passion like she usually inspired in men and women alike.

It was humbling and refreshing at once. She wasn't sure why she felt slightly insulted by how little he visibly reacted to the deep valleys of cleavage her low shirt provided, but she did.

Taking a seat next to her sister after drawing herself from her reverie, Yang returned his devilish grin with one of her own while trying to play it cool, looking him head to toe in the same fashion he had her.

"Well hello to you too, _good looking,_ " Yang couldn't help but start off with one of her favorite pick-up lines, "Did it hurt?"

He tilted his head to the side in slight confusion before asking the obvious. "Did what hurt?"

"When you fell from Heaven, obviously," Yang winked flirtatiously while twirling a lock of golden hair around her index finger, "I think I can check meeting an angel off of my bucket list now, though. My name's Yang and this is Ruby, what's yours?"

His laugh was deep and melodious, ringing through the air almost at once as he processed her favorite pick-up line. Yang couldn't help but smirk victoriously upon seeing the appreciation in his eyes for the compliment.

"Akira," The frizzy haired teenager admitted while removing his glasses to clean once more before returning them to his face, "A pleasure to meet you both."

Yang reached across the counter to shake his hand, only for him to bring the back of her hand to his lips. Placing two chaste kisses on her knuckles, he looked up and gave her one final smirk that nearly caused her heart to burst from her chest before allowing her to bring her hand to her chest as he straightened his posture.

' _He's smoking hot and he knows it.'_ Yang thought to herself while bringing her hand up to fan her face, "Is it hot in here, or is it just us?"

"We both know the answer to that question," Akira countered lightly while making his way to the latte machine to start preparing Ruby's drink, "What can I get for you, ma'am?"

"I think I'll have what little sis here is having," Yang eventually decided after mulling over her options, not really sure what she would even like due to her lack of experience with the many different types of coffee that could be ordered, "With extra whipped cream and chocolate curls, if you have them."

Akira nodded and started grabbing the ingredients he would need to make two of his newer creations, humming under his breath the entire while. He pretended not to notice as Ruby and Yang both followed him with their eyes the entire time, instead focusing on the few customers that remained besides the two.

Eventually, the two received their drinks and immediately went to work consuming them. Yang had only taken a sip before her mouth exploded with flavor she wasn't prepared for, causing her to nearly choke as she gulped down the first mouthful quickly. Glancing down at her drink and then back up at Akira, she was almost at a loss for words as she tried to process the rich flavor that had taken over her mouth.

Glancing to her sister, she wasn't surprised to see that Ruby was working as quickly as she could to chug the beautifully crafted drink without scalding her throat too bad.

Yang sighed in content as she reached for one of the cute, cat-head shaped cakes resting on the plate between her and her sister, turning it over in her fingers in admiration.

Taking a bite of the cake, she wasn't surprised to find it as flavorful as the coffee. "You know, I think I just found my new favorite place to relax. Hope you don't mind seeing us more often, hot stuff."

Akira didn't seem at all bothered by her words, instead giving her one final smile that made her heart flutter in her chest. "I hope I do."

' _Does he not know what that smile does to_ _people_ _like me?'_ Yang couldn't stop the small dusting of pink that crossed her cheeks as she felt her face tilt downwards to hide her embarrassment, ' _Get it together, Yang, you're acting like this is your first rodeo!'_

The two left soon after, to-go cups filled with their new favorite drinks grasped in each of their hands. "Hey, little sis? Did he seem... familiar to you?"

"Er... no?" Ruby questioned more than stated, turning to her sister with a curious expression on her face, "Why do you ask?"

"No reason..." Yang trailed off as she glanced down at her Scroll, trying to scour her mind on just who he reminded her of, "So, when do you want to come back?"

"Asap, Yang. Asap. I don't think I can live with myself if we didn't."

Yang found that she agreed with Ruby, though for completely different reasons.


	7. Misunderstandings all around

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **7,**_ _ **Misunderstandings all around**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! Sorry for the delay on this chapter, I've had a hectic past few days now to say the least._

 _SPOILER WARNING, I REVEAL PLOT POINTS FOR RWBY V5E12-14 AHEAD. Sorry for not putting this up sooner, it didn't cross my mind at all._

 **[PL]**

Ozpin observed Vale from his tower, either hand clasped behind his back as he ruminated on his life and the many mistakes he had made. His failure to stop Her, the curse placed upon him to forever reincarnate by the Gods and every life he had loved since.

Each incarnation, he did his best to further his goals, compile resources and create a vast network of families loyal to his mission. Many such families had long since fallen into obscurity and decadence such as the Black family, while others remained in the light firmly such as the Arc's.

He had long since made peace with quite a few of his many let downs and mistakes, but a few still lingered amongst the living.

His usage of the Branwen twins as his eyes had been a partial mistake with the defection of Raven, but the loyalty he received from Qrow more than made up for his twins departure from his fold. Allowing Raven to leave with the small spark of magic dwelling within her had been done as a favor to Qrow, who did not want to hunt down his sister. If allowing her to walk away with knowledge of the hidden side to Remnants bloody history was the price to pay for Qrow's loyalty, it was a price he was willing to pay.

However, recent events, or rather, recent arrivals within Vale have made Ozpin slightly question the supposed loyalty of Qrow.

Turning away from his large window, the Headmaster of Beacon stalked towards his desk and set himself down gingerly before his personal Scroll. It was a matter of seconds before the image of Ozpin's reason for suspicion played itself out once more, slowly and from every angle available.

Akira Kurusu was an unknown unknown. Everything about him screamed at Ozpin as genuine, but the information provided to the Kingdom of Vale upon his registration as a permanent citizen had been false, by and far.

There was absolutely no record of any such locations such as Shibuya or Yongen on either the continents of Sanus or Anima. The Kingdoms of Vale, Mistral nor Atlas sported any such settlements, either, at least none recent enough to have been registered on the map.

That isn't to say that they didn't exist, but someone like Ozpin would have at least heard about such by and far settlements not within the Kingdoms jurisdiction, especially with a scout like Qrow operating as his eyes outside of the Kingdoms.

Other such inaccuracies appeared on his record as well, though none that screamed at him quite like the names of locations that didn't exist. In the current state of the world and with recent advancements in technology, it was hard to create a convincing back story for one's self that would hold up under intense scrutiny, and this time was no different.

From how easily 'Akira' responded to his name being called, Ozpin could either assume it was an identity he had long since grown used to donning, or it was his real name. His eyes were at one point charcoal gray, but had recently become a burning, almost bloody red that were almost unnatural in their intensity. His hair was stark black, and curled and waved in a way that was so like Raven's that Ozpin couldn't help but draw parallels between the Branwen Twins and the owner of Leblanc Deux after trying to figure out just who Akira reminded him of.

The fact that he _could_ draw parallels between them is what bothered him the most. The small smile that the teenager wore was as dark as it was bemused, as if he knew something everyone else didn't, or perhaps couldn't would be more apt. It was so much like the cocky smirk of Qrow and the vicious grin of Raven, yet unlike either in a way. Akira had a natural allure to him, drew people towards him without seemingly being aware of just how his actions were perceived.

Qrow gave people the impression of a clown to lower their guard, while Raven would use the fear her presence generated to subjugate those around into submission. Akira did neither, instead offering small comforts and kind words that were as tasteful as they were beautiful. He did not come off as cocky, but he did have a penchant for moments of suave that even left Ozpin reeling in how smoothly he delivered his words and actions.

Akira had clearly been trained in understanding just what different people liked and what they did not. He avoided conflict with ease that was befitting the most ardent pacifists, yet did not have qualms with delivering proper judgment for those who broke his simple rules within his cafe.

More than that, he would say exactly what someone needed to hear to endear themselves to him, and that made him just as dangerous as either twin in Ozpin's opinion. Ozpin had no doubt that in the month that Blake Belladonna had been living with him, the two had become close enough to work almost silently, dancing around one another in the small kitchen that most Huntsmen and Huntresses couldn't display with teammates they have had for years.

It was almost scary, watching the two feline Faunus work in tandem, almost causing the Headmaster to assume the two were either related, or married. After a bit of subtle questioning, Ozpin was able to discern that neither seemed to be the case, and that was enough to further solidify his opinion on Akira's charismatic, yet enigmatic nature.

For all that he said, his words never reflected his internal thoughts. Everything he did and everything he said were carefully measured and meticulously executed. From how silent he remained when not being spoken to, Ozpin finally determined just how his thought process might work, and it painted an almost terrifying image for the cursed man.

Watching the entire scene captured on the cameras within the Emerald Forest, Ozpin was just as confused as he had been the very moment he saw it happen live. The blue flames that poured from his glowing, crimson and gold eyes seemed to indicate he was the Spring Maiden, but considering the fact that the flames were slightly different shades of blue and that Akira was male, that did not seem to be the case.

While the Maidens all demonstrated some ability to use Magic in the form of elemental attacks and nature manipulation, Ozpin did not recall granting any of the four the ability to wield Light, especially considering even he himself could not wield the supposed element.

Ozpin had been convinced that Akira was merely using his magic to enhance his semblance, which might have been hard-light manipulation, but that proved to not be the case days later when Akira admitted to just having his aura unlocked the day prior. The timeline was incorrect, and Ozpin was forced to scrap his previous assumption to the nature of Akira's abilities revolving around Light manipulation.

The golden rings that appeared in his eyes when using his magic were now the only key indicator between when he was using either aura and mana now, as well as the blue flames around his eyes and the surface of the ground.

The mystery behind the existence of Akira made him a variable, one that was now in his back yard and operating with impunity.

Ozpin, after long consideration, found that he was at an impasse.

With Qrow trailing the Fall Maiden, Ozpin couldn't afford to pull the man back from his duties of protecting Amber on her yearly pilgrimage. Glynda was aware of Akira and Ozpin's interest, but assumed it went as far as in his potential as a future student and not at all related to the war between Salem and himself.

James Ironwood had yet to be brought in, either, due to how heavy handed the man operated in situations such as the one he found himself in now. The Headmasters of the other Academies had not been involved either, as their presence was neither helpful nor exactly wanted in the delicate matter of the cafe owner.

Approaching Akira Kurusu required a very delicate touch, one that Ozpin found he almost couldn't facilitate alone, yet he remained without any other help to call upon.

Groaning lowly and pinching the bridge of his nose to relieve a bit of the pressure behind his eyes, Ozpin leaned his elbows upon his desk and began to try and break down everything in a manner that made sense.

Akira was an orphan, aged seventeen and very wealthy for someone so young. He made great coffee and curry, lived in his cafe and kept his shop open fourteen hours a day, six days a week. He bore a striking resemblance to both Raven and Qrow alike, wielded a fifty caliber handgun that could mechashift into a large dagger, and could use magic.

He was either a Maiden, or the son of a Maiden. He had never seen a case of Maidens passing down his granted abilities genetically, but mutations occurred from time to time in everything else on Remnant so he wouldn't be terribly surprised if that ended up being the case.

From this, Ozpin concluded that he was the orphaned son of Qrow who was unaware of his parentage, or he was the son of Raven who was very aware of his parentage due to his coloration. Through this line of thinking came the suspicion of Raven taking on abilities she had no real business wielding, unaware of just how accurate his suspicions really were.

That begged the question of just why Raven Branwen decided to have another child after Yang Xiao Long, who the father of the clearly Faunus teenager was, and just how she kept him hidden for so long.

Did she abandon him as well, and his color scheme is merely a coincidence? Call him jaded, but Ozpin didn't believe in coincidences.

How did Qrow remain ignorant to his existence? Was he complicit in hiding Akira away, to prevent either his nephew or son from being dragged into the war against Salem? Surely he knew that he wouldn't involve those who didn't agree to join willingly, as so demonstrated with Yang and Ruby alike.

What made Akira different in that case? This was one of the few areas that the complete lack of information prevented Ozpin from proceeding further in his hypothetical questions in the first place.

Why did Akira not have his aura unlocked until recently? Was his semblance like his father or uncle's? Was it similar to his aunt or mother's? How and why did he make such damn good coffee?

These were questions that had kept Ozpin awake at night recently, and they were starting to take their toll on his psyche.

The sound of his Scroll beeping twice drew him from his reverie, causing him to look up to see a text message at the top right of his screen.

'Speak of the devil…' Ozpin mused as he read the message on his Scroll before rising from his desk while collapsing the large Scroll to fit into his coat pocket, 'I suppose the first official meeting of the Coffee Cult would be as good of time as any to press him for more information.'

Ozpin tried not to dwell on the fact that he was looking forward to the meeting for the coffee just as much as he was the one making it.

'The things I do for peace...' Ozpin thought sarcastically as he stepped into the elevator in his tower to meet Glynda at the ground floor so that they could meet Peter and Bart at the Bullhead together.

 **[PL]**

"Is there something I can help you with, Ozpin?" Akira questioned as he glanced over his shoulder, having moved to the kitchen to deposit the dirty dishes in the sink upon dismissing the first official meeting of the 'Coffee Cult', as he called his little tasters club.

He had thought that everyone had left, including the Headmaster, but it appeared he was incorrect in assuming that the man had better things to do than bother him.

"I have a few questions, if you don't mind humoring me a moment longer?" Ozpin questioned from his spot at the counter, "I promise not to take too long."

"I see..." Akira trailed off as he made his way to his usual spot behind the counter Ozpin sat at with a slow gait, the day starting to catch up with him a bit quicker than he was expecting, "I don't see why I can't answer a few questions for a loyal customer, what do you wish to know?"

"What are you parents name?" Ozpin started off with the first question he had, "I can't place where, but you are _very_ familiar to me. Perhaps they were once students of mine?"

"I don't know," Akira eventually answered after a few moments, his small smile flickering slightly into a more neutral expression before it was in place once more, "I'm orphaned, you see, so I never got the pleasure of knowing who my parents were."

It was a lie, of course, but it may as well have been the truth to Akira. He thought he had known his parents, but his year in Tokyo, or rather, the fact that he _spent_ a year in Tokyo proved otherwise.

He was always a good kid and kept his nose out of trouble, but the moment he got involved with the wrong side of the law, they threw him away like he was trash.

The look of disgust on their faces the day they picked him up from the police station would remain with him until the day he died. That same look of disgust, namely the permanent sneer they gained in his presence, would remain a constant until the day he finally left for Tokyo to live in Sojiro's cafe.

Akira had thought he knew his parents, but he didn't think he knew them at all now. He may has well have been an orphan, because in all honesty, he felt like one.

"Oh, I see..." Ozpin trailed off, an uncomfortable look overcoming his posture as he awkwardly shuffled in his seat, "I apologize for asking, my curiosity seems to have caused me to open my mouth a bit too wide."

"It's fine," Akira tried to assuage his worry after a second, "It's not like you were the one who abandoned their child, after all."

Ozpin suppressed a wince at hearing the bitterness in his words, coming to the conclusion then and there that he was aware of his parents and they chose to abandon him willingly, or that he never knew them in the first place.

Raven had already abandoned one child, who was to say she wouldn't do it again?

The Headmaster nodded his head in sympathy before attempting to continue his questioning in a different route, "So you didn't receive any training on how to wield your weapon, then?"

"Goodness no," Akira shook his head in the negative while reaching into the mini-fridge beneath the bar for one of his cold-brew coffees, prying the cork with his forefinger and thumb easily, "I am self taught, for the most part. I've picked up a few things from friends I've made in the past, but most of what I can do was learned through trail and error."

Yet again, shooting Shadows in the face almost every day of the week had certainly taught Akira how to wield his weapon with almost scary accuracy. _Get smoked, losers._

Ozpin tapped his fingers against the counter lightly in thought, drumming them in a pattern that only he could understand. After a moment, he eventually nodded and rose from his position before motioning to leave, but not before calling over his shoulder at the door.

"You really should give attending Beacon further thought, I could pull some strings and have you in whenever you wanted."

"We both know I am far too busy to go to school, Ozpin."

The gray haired man laughed before making his way into the crowd of passersby as he always did, leaving Akira alone with his thoughts once more.

Just as he motioned to move from behind the counter to lock up and turn in early, the sound of his door opening and closing rather quickly brought his attention towards the front of his shop once more.

Sheepishly lowering her hood, Pyrrha raised her hand slightly in greeting while glancing around the shop. "Hello again! I... tried to stop by earlier, but you seemed to be having a meeting. I can leave if you'd like."

"No, please, come in," Akira gave her a bright smile as he made his way around the corner to lock up the door, allowing the two to speak in privacy without anyone else deciding they wanted a late night cup of joe, "I gave you my word I'd keep my door open for you and I intend on keeping it."

"Thank you very much," Pyrrha clasped both hands before her waist and gave him a light bow in a show of gratitude, perhaps something she picked up back in Mistral, "May I have the same as last time, with a few extra cakes as well?"

"Certainly, ma'am," Akira was quick to get to work while speaking up as he did so for the benefit of his favorite celebrity so far, "Do you like cinnamon? I've tried to make a new style of coffee cake, but I'm not sure if I should include it on the menu."

"I love cinnamon," Pyrrha clapped her hands excitedly upon seeing the cute cakes in the shape of a cat-head, "They look as adorable as always, I see."

"Of course, I happen to have a fondness for cats, you see," Akira mused as a joke while flicking one of his ears lightly to reinforce his reasoning, "I didn't put as much whipped cream on them as usual, but I started to run out at the end. Take as many as you want, they'll just end up getting thrown away or donated anyway."

"You certainly know how to make a woman happy," Pyrrha gladly took six of the small cakes and set them upon her plate, "You cook, clean and make the best vanilla latte I've ever had in my life, not to mention these adorable little cakes you spoil me with."

"You seem like you needed a bit of happiness in your life, and it makes _me_ happy to make _you_ happy." Akira shrugged his shoulders lightly, having seen the look in Pyrrha's eyes when she first came to his cafe looking for a late night latte to satiate her thirst, "Believe me, you deserve to relax and be yourself just as much as anyone else."

Pyrrha sighed happily as the smell of vanilla, coffee and cinnamon filled the air. Glancing at the man behind the counter making her drink with a smile on his face, she could be forgiven for getting lost in a day dream she didn't see coming.

 **[PL]**

Weiss Schnee adored coffee. It was one of the few creature comforts she was willing to partake in, one that brought her warmth in her otherwise cold world.

Nothing beat the smell of a well-brewed cup of coffee, be it a latte, frappuccino or just a standard cup of coffee with cream. It was this very smell that drew her attention as she walked down the main boulevard of Vale, enjoying the sights of the capitol city of the Kingdom without the constant presence of her butler Klein.

Snapping her gaze to the left, she saw the door to a cafe by the name Leblanc Deux, whatever _that_ meant, held open by a crate and a pot of flowers. It took a few moments for Weiss to make her way across the street and towards the cafe, but it was worth it if she could finally find somewhere that could make a decent cup of coffee without screwing up her order.

Stepping through the door, Weiss was only given seconds to give the shop a quick, yet critical glance before her eyes fell upon the man standing behind the counter.

Dressed in almost all black with crimson accents stood one of the best looking men her age Weiss had ever come across. His hair, while wild and tossed about lazily, was clearly well taken care of, as was his skin. He had two large feline ears upon his head, black in coloration and quite a few sizes bigger than she had seen before.

It didn't take but a second for her posture to stiffen slightly upon seeing a Faunus working behind the counter, but she did her best to keep her normally racial insensitivity to herself as best she could.

His eyes burned with a passion that was obvious to even someone as cold as she, being both alluring in their brightness, yet haunted at the same time. Weiss found it almost hard to look away as her icy blues locked with his burning crimson, but eventually glanced away from his eyes and to the rest of his ensemble.

He was dressed in a very well crafted suit, black and red in coloration and of very high quality material. Weiss could identify the brand after a few moments of searching and found her opinion of the figure rising at once. One didn't walk around dressed in a Drioni suit, of _all_ brands, without being wealthy.

The fact that he wore it to work, where it could easily get ruined, let her know just how little he cared about potentially destroying a two thousand Lien coat.

"Hello, and welcome to Leblanc Deux. Our special today is sweet green curry served over rice noodles, please get my attention when you are ready." He spoke at last, his voice easily carrying over the chatter in the background, "You may sit wherever you like."

"Thank you," Weiss eventually spoke while moving to sit at the counter, glancing at the wide selection of different coffee beans available for selection, "This is quite the selection, and it certainly _smells_ like you know what you're doing... May I have a large white chocolate mocha, extra hot and served with extra whipped cream?"

"Coming right up, ma'am," Once more, his rich voice easily reached her ears, despite facing in the complete opposite direction and moving away, "It should be ready in just a few minutes."

Weiss nodded absently and turned her gaze around the cafe slowly once more, taking in the sights of those around her better than before.

After enjoying her hot drink and stepping back into Vale proper twenty minutes later, Weiss found that she was more prepared to face the day than she had felt in quite some time. She promised to stop by once more, having thoroughly enjoyed her drink enough to the point of ordering a second to go.

She almost didn't mind the fact that the young owner of the cafe was a Faunus. Almost.


	8. Welcome Home

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **8,**_ _ **Welcome Home**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _Many apologies for not putting up a spoiler warning, that was my mistake. I promise to try and be a bit more considerate in the future!_

 _Thank you Teamkyuubi13, I will do my best to try and flesh out the scenes with the cast in the future a bit better!_

 _No worries, King of Savages, there will be shenanigans abound due to this strange situation Akira has found himself in._

 _Lucem my friend, I see that you already know whose next before I introduce them! I actually don't have a reason to have Jaune go to Leblanc, but I do have an idea on how to involve him that involves something a bit more... fun, if ya know what I'm sayin'. Ren and Nora are coming soon, no worries!_

 _Thank you Creus, and have a wonderful day!_

 _As of this chapter, we are two weeks from the start of Beacon, Midnight. I will leave the pairings up in the air for now, but there might be somewhere in this story where those relationships establish themselves._

 _Drof, you should deff watch RWBY. It's kinda fun._

 _Renny, the phrase Unknown Unknown refers to something that_ _is hard to break down, so stick with me for a second while I try my best to explain myself._

 _An Unknown Unknown would refer to something that I had no idea could have existed. Like, I know that I don't know calculus, but I also know that calculus exists. That would be a known unknown._

 _In this case, an unknown unknown would be, hypothetically speaking, an alien god on some other planet in a galaxy we can't see in the night sky. I don't know the planet is there and supports life, I don't know that the aliens exist, and I don't know the aliens have a god._

 _Akira, in this case, came out of nowhere and opens up an expensive cafe in the heart of Vale. Ozpin had no hints to his existence in the least, and suddenly finds out there is another magic user that happens to look a lot like people he has been involved with for quite a few years. He is an unknown unknown due to his blank past, no hints of his existence before he popped up, his appearance and his strange magic abilities._

 _The more Ozpin learns about him, the more he would be considered a known unknown, in this case. He knows he exists, but that's it. He wouldn't know the nature of his abilities, where he came from, what he plans on doing or anything of the sort._

 _Ugh, sorry, I didn't mean for that to be so long, it's just hard to explain some things in a way that makes sense to others._

 _Sorry Milton, I will try and warn you next time. Really, I mean it, that was shitty of me not to include a spoiler warning._

 _Akira hasn't started his other businesses yet, but he actually was in this chapter. You keep guessing what I'm doing before I do it, and I don't know how. Stop it, get out of my head man, it's dark and scary in there!_

 _Thank you as always, ThatGuyReturns! I do plan on having Akira be instrumental in the development of Weiss as a person and Huntress alike. I really like how well the two could mesh as both friends and perhaps a potential love interest in the far future, not to mention just how fun it is to write about Pyrrha and Akira hanging out. Keep coming around, you goddamn beautiful person, you, and I'll keep em coming!_

 _The Deckmaster, I love the idea about the power of friendship line. I hope you don't mind if I use it!_

 _Crazycriticizer, I am sorry to say that there **will** be moments of romance in the future, perhaps Harem shenanigans as well. At that point, please don't say I didn't warn you that it could potentially happen._

 _To everyone else, I love you and give you my thanks! Now, enough of my long winded bs and on with the story! Yaaaaay._

 **[PL]**

"Thank you all for coming," Akira started with a clap of his hands, drawing the attention of the mulling crowd of Faunus and Humans alike surrounding him, "I come with not only food tonight, but an opportunity for those seeking employment."

It was another night that he found himself delivering his large amount of left over food to those in need down in the industrial district. The weather was starting to cool down as summer came to a close and autumn creeped up once more, bringing about the need for slightly thicker clothing due to how humid the air in Vale was. Some mornings, he could have sworn he was walking through a thick, wet blanket of air that clung to his skin, clothes and hair alike due to how thick the moisture in the air was.

This proved to be a problem more for those without homes than he realized, especially with the lack of any warm clothing or shelter to cut out the chill of the nights air.

After finally recovering his initial investments into Leblanc Deux, he had decided to go ahead with his plan on starting the escort service he had in mind. It was much easier in applying for the business license necessary this time around, leaving Akira with only a few forms of paperwork and an initial fee to pay before he could start the hiring process.

Not only would he be helping provide safe and somewhat easy work for the women he helped feed, but the men as well as the guards of said women.

"What type of opportunity?" Came a voice from the crowd, one of the blond fox faunus poking her head up slightly by standing on her tip toes to be noticed, "I'm willing to do almost anything at this point, as long as you pay me!"

Murmurs of agreement rumbled through the crowd before Akira rose a hand to call for silence, "With a show of hands, I'm going to list a few qualifications I am looking for. If you are interested by the end, keep your hand raised. If you hear something you don't think you'll be willing to do, please, lower your hand and stand by."

When he was sure that everyone was listening carefully, the frizzy haired cafe owner began his employment pitch. "I am looking for women, first and foremost, but men will be needed for this as well. You must be willing to wear a maids dress or butler suit as well as follow orders to the letter. You will be expected to cook for strangers, clean for strangers and go to strangers home to keep them company for a set amount of time. Is everyone with me so far?"

There were conflicting looks on the faces of the women lingering in the crowd, both old and young, prompting Akira to continue before they could get the wrong impression, despite the fact that most hands were still raised.

"Allow me to clarify that I am not starting a prostitution service, nor will I be expecting any of my employees to provide any 'special services' what so ever," Akira paused for a moment as he allowed the women to register his words, "I am, however, starting an escort service where my employees will be expected to be temporary maids, friends, cooks, caretakers and confidants to those willing to purchase your time."

"Do you have any applications for us to fill out?"

"You said you'll hire men as well, right?"

"Please take me with you, I'll be your maid for free!"

Akira pretended he didn't hear the last offer as he gestured for the crowd to settle down once more, "I have scheduled Leblanc to be closed for tomorrow for those who would like to come and apply. I will be conducting interviews throughout the week, so if you do not have a Scroll, we can set up a schedule before you leave."

"Wait, so the men are going to be cleaning as well? I, uh... I don't look that good, but I'm strong!" Came a voice from the back of the crowd, a rather burly lion Faunus that had three scars in the shape of claw marks gashing through his left eye stepping forward a bit to speak up, "You don't have a need for muscle, do you?"

"As a matter of fact, my friend, I do," Akira affirmed while nodding his head and crossing his arms over his chest, "Every woman that is hired will be escorted by a bodyguard. Each will be expected to wear a headset and the guard must remain close by, preventing any of my employees from being molested, harassed or bullied."

Akira could tell that he was looking at quite a few future employees, and that gave him even more ideas on potential businesses he could start. "How many here think they have what it takes to be an enforcer of mine?"

Quite a few men stepped forward, as did a few of the more intense looking women. From how quickly they had fallen into step with one another, they had likely worked together in the past in such positions.

"You all seem a bit quick to line up," Akira pointed out while giving them all a once over, quickly formulating a plan on just how they would all size up in keeping his other employees protected, "Let me be clear right now, we are not going to be a violent company. We are to keep ours protected, yes, but we are not going to operate as a gang, or a terrorist group."

When it became clear that many of those gathered were still interested, if not eager, he finally finished off his pitch and began to distribute the food he had brought with him. "I thank you all for listening, and hope to see you tomorrow as well."

 **[PL]**

The next day had been as hectic as he expected due to the crowd of people that had shown up to apply for positions in his new business venture. After perusing many of the applications with the help of Blake, Akira had started to call a few of his applicants to start showing throughout the next week and finally deciding on a dozen to start off.

With six pairs of men and women alike, the fliers for his service were distributed across the entirety of the city and not even a day after that, he was receiving requests for work. After the first day of having the incoming calls diverted to his personal Scroll, it became apparent that he would need to have a business Scroll activated due to the influx of requests he continued to receive.

As a result, he ended up hiring two more people before the end of the week to manage and coordinate the many men and women alike under his employ, but it was well worth it in the end.

Looking over the many completed transactions and the comments left on his employees profiles by their customers, Akira was pleased to find that he was correct in assuming that his maid service would be a hit with the locals.

Between supplying all of the cleaning products and uniforms of his employees, Akira had invested a few thousand Lien into his second business, only to see almost half of that money back within a week of being open for business. By his estimates, he expected his ladies would be receiving more and more requests for service as time went on, as would his men.

With all of his employees paid, Akira still found himself in the positive as far as expenses went, enough so that he felt that he could start yet another project at the same time without feeling too much of a strain on his bank account. Pulling up his map of Vale once more, he zoomed in until he was at street level just a few blocks from Leblanc Deux, showing two buildings for sale next to one another.

The first building was a shop and studio combo much like the building he purchased to recreate his home back in Tokyo, while the second was an apartment building that had been shut down a year prior due to the owner going bankrupt.

Both were being sold by the First Bank of Vale for a price that was too good for Akira to pass up, though he knew he would have to wait until he built his money back up before he could start the renovation process on either.

The idea was to open a maid cafe that dealt specifically in breakfast and deserts similar to the small cafe in Akihabara, giving those in his employ somewhere to work from besides Leblanc, considering just how small the interior of his first cafe was. The building next door, however, was to be renovated and rented out to those living within the industrial district at a reasonable rate, providing those under his employ somewhere to lay their heads without worrying about getting kicked out by a racist landlord if they happen to be short on their rent a few times.

After staring at his Scroll for a few moments, he brought up the bidding page for both buildings and secured his bid without further thought.

Considering how quickly he had received the rights to the building he currently lived and worked in, he knew it wouldn't be a week before he was the proud owner of two more projects to work on in his spare time.

Standing and stretching, Akira felt his spine correct itself and pop multiple times, causing him to groan lowly before making his way towards his dresser. Retrieving his favorite set of night clothes, he stripped and changed as quickly as he could while attempting to remain conscious.

Moments later, he left his room and made his way towards the stairs, only to stop upon hearing the light giggling of Blake as she leaned over what appeared to be a journal of sorts. Taking a step closer and leaning on the wall next to the desk he usually worked on his schematics at, Akira raised a brow while clearing his throat, causing Blake to jump in fright while slamming the book she was jotting notes in rather abruptly.

"You have to stop sneaking up on me like that, Akira," Blake moaned under her breath after placing a hand over her chest to still her racing heart, "Seriously, how do you keep sneaking up on me?"

"Maybe I'm a ninja, Blake," Akira joked lightly while wagging his finger towards her, "Or, maybe you weren't paying attention. It could be either, really."

Blake gave him a look that was both amused and displeased at once before she shoved him lightly in the stomach, causing him to lurch back slightly before he corrected himself with a pout on his face.

"Don't give me that look, you should know better than to tease me by now." Blake put her book away within her bag laying next to Akira's desk before crossing her arms and raising a brow challengingly as if daring him to correct her.

Akira huffed lightly and rolled his eyes before gesturing towards the stairs with his head, "I'm about to make a midnight snack, you want anything?"

"Do we have any tuna left?" Blake questioned while her ears perked up straight, "I really, really feel like having some tuna."

"You _always_ feel like having tuna," Akira pointed out with a small laugh while making his way towards the stairs, Blake hot on his heels as he went, "I don't blame you, though, I'm starting to think it's addictive."

"Addictive is putting it lightly," Blake traced her hand along the wall as they descended towards the ground level once more, "I've been fighting the cravings since I was just a kid and they're only getting worse as I get older."

"Maybe we should check ourselves into rehab?" Akira mused while bringing a hand towards his jaw to stroke his non-existent beard in thought, "This can't be healthy."

"That, my friend, is heresy," Blake defended hotly while placing a hand upon her hip while leaning upon the counter lightly, "You should drop to your knees and beg for forgiveness before the tuna Gods strike you down where you stand."

"You _would_ like it if I got on my hands and knees before you, wouldn't you?" Akira teased as he looked over his shoulder and waggled his brows, "I knew you were a pervert, Blake, but I never expected you to be so _bold_."

He felt an empty to-go cup collide with his forehead a second after he spoke, causing him to laugh lowly while bending down to pick it up and replace it on the edge of the counter. "Yet again, you sure seem to like making me bend down to pick things up, don't you?"

"You are the _worst_ , Akira," Blake whined as she turned her head upwards in a display of haughtiness that would have been more fitting the silver haired Schnee descendent that had started making stops at his cafe over the past week, "I've caught you checking me out, don't even try to play innocent with me."

"You got me," Akira admitted without a shred of guilt in his voice while spooning a large amount of tuna salad onto two different slices of bread before topping them both with a slice of bread, "It's hard not to appreciate a good view, even for someone with self control like mine."

Blake sputtered at how easily Akira admitted to checking her out, having thought he would at least try and pretend he didn't know what she was talking about. Fighting down the scarlet blush that appeared across her cheeks, Blake turned her head and began to murmur under her breath in embarrassment, seemingly forgetting that she wasn't the only person with enhanced hearing due to their feline ears.

"I apologize, perhaps I should have kept that to myself," Akira admitted as he set a plate with one of the tuna sandwiches before her while walking around the counter to sit beside her, "I will try and keep my eyes from wandering."

Yet again, she mumbled her reply, though it was heard loud and clear by her fellow Faunus. "What if I don't _want_ you to stop?"

He could tell he wasn't supposed to answer, so he didn't. Instead, he took a bite of his sandwich while ignoring the feeling of being watched, knowing that she was watching him carefully once more.

'You're such a cat sometimes, Blake.' Akira laughed at her behavior, knowing it was just one of the many feline habits the girl had developed to reflect her nature as a cat Faunus. While it was a bit unnerving, being watched like a lioness waiting for her next meal, it was endearing at the same time.

Akira wouldn't admit it, but he was starting to get antsy knowing that he would be living alone once more in just a few weeks.

"So two more weeks, huh?" Akira questioned after a few moments of silence, knowing that Blake knew what he was referring to instantly, "Are you looking forward to finally moving out of my attic?"

"Would you be offended if I said no?" Blake turned to face him as she spoke, not missing a beat in between his question and her answer, "I... I'm actually having second thoughts about applying for Beacon."

"Why is that?" Akira put down his sandwich and turned to face her, giving her his undivided attention, "Being a Huntress is your goal, isn't it?"

"It is, and isn't," Blake shrugged while setting down her sandwich as well, despite wanting to devour the rest of it ravenously, "I want to bridge the gap between Humanity and Faunus, but recently I've learned that I don't need to be a fighter to do it."

"... Why don't you tell me the real reason, Blake?" Akira questioned after a moment, drumming his fingers against the counter-top lightly as he called her bluff, "Something tells me there is more to it, isn't there?"

"... Do you promise not to laugh?" Blake turned her head downwards, shadowing her face with her ebony locks completely, "I won't tell you unless you swear you won't laugh in my face."

"I swear it on my bones," Akira placed both hands upon the counter to show that he wasn't crossing his fingers, "I will not laugh at your reasoning at all."

"I..." Blake seemed conflicted with her response before eventually cursing and looking up to lock eyes with her current boss, landlord and close friend, "I'm scared that you'll forget about me, and that I'll be all alone again when I leave..."

"Oh, Blake," Akira sighed before reaching out and placing a hand upon her shoulder, causing her to flinch slightly at the contact before pressing further into his warm hand, "How could I ever forget someone like you?"

"It's not hard, I assure you," Blake laughed bitterly while turning to face the ground once more, unable to maintain eye contact any longer, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said any-"

She was cut off from finishing her sentence when Akira reached out and pulled her from her seat and towards him. Wrapping either of his arms around her shoulders, Akira drew Blake close to his chest while placing his right hand behind her head.

"I promise you, Blake, that I will never, _ever_ forget you. So long as I'm alive, you'll never be alone again." Akira whispered gently as he ran a hand through her hair, causing her to break down into tears as she shakily returned the loving embrace she found herself drawn into, "Even after you move out, this will always be your home, so long as you consider it as much."

"Promise?" Blake murmured her question into his chest, her voice so small that it was almost inaudible, "You promise you won't forget me? That I can come home whenever I want?"

"I swear to you," Akira found himself placing a small kiss upon the crown of her head out of habit before he could stop himself, "It's going to be alright, Blake, _we're_ going to be alright."

Neither spoke further afterwards, instead enjoying the comfort that either brought while nibbling on their almost forgotten sandwiches.

 **[PL]**

Akira sighed as he watched his last customer of the day leave once more before locking the door behind them and making his way towards the kitchen. Blake had taken off early to pick up her recent order from Tukson's before he could close his shop, leaving the frizzy haired entrepreneur to close up alone.

It was well past closing by the time he finished cleaning his many different machines used in brewing different coffee-based drinks before he started on the last few chores he needed to complete before being able to call it a night.

The sound of music played over the speakers of his Scroll as he started to rinse the many dirty dishes left over from the dinner crowd, drowning out the noise of glass bowls and mugs clanking together. It was a familiar song that he had grown to love in Tokyo, an instrumental titled 'Beneath the Mask' that eventually became his favorite song to relax to.

The sound of tapping drew his attention away from his dishes for a moment, only for him to return to what he was doing seconds later when he couldn't pinpoint the direction the sound came from. A few moments later, the sound of tapping returned, this time louder, causing him to shut off the water while reaching for a towel to dry his hands.

Stepping from within the kitchen, Akira glanced around while listening for the noise once more. Finally, his attention was drawn towards the door when the tapping resumed, causing him to sigh before glancing through the blinds to see who could be stopping by so late.

The figure was looking away and wearing a hood, causing Akira to purse his lips slightly before tapping the window one to get the attention of the person standing in his doorway.

"We are closed for the night, I'm sorry."

The hooded figure quickly snapped their gaze towards the door, allowing Akira to get a better look at what little of their face he could see from beneath their large hood.

"Is... is that really you, Akira?"

Akira froze upon hearing the small voice calling out to him from the other side of the door, his mind whirling chaotically as he tried to place the familiar lilt to their voice.

Unlocking the door and throwing it open with more force than he intended, Akira quickly removed the obstacle separating the two while taking a few steps back and gesturing for the figure to step forward.

Following his unspoken command, the cloaked figure stepped into the light provided by the interior of Leblanc Deux while glancing around in appreciation.

"I knew the name wasn't a coincidence," The figure whispered lowly, their voice thick with emotion as they brought their hands to their hood before lowering it slowly, "I... You have no idea how glad I am to have _finally_ found you."

Akira frowned heavily before reaching up and viciously slapping himself across the face, thoroughly convinced that he was dreaming as he shut his eyes in pain. After counting backwards from ten, he released the breath he was holding before his eyes shot open once more, only to lock onto the very figure that inspired such a reaction from him.

His eyes widened after a few seconds and his breath hitched in his chest before he was on his knees, his legs having given out beneath him upon realizing that he _wasn't_ dreaming.

"You're real? You... you aren't a figment of my imagination?" Akira questioned after what felt like hours of staring at one of the few people he had ever felt any genuine love for, "Please tell me the truth... are you _real_ , Futaba?"

"I'm real," The figure answered back before they launched themselves at Akira, wrapping their arms firmly around his neck as the force behind their lunge sent them both to the floor in a fit of tears, laughter and more tears, "I'm real, and you're real, and... and..."

Akira wasn't sure how, or _why_ , but he was no longer the only Phantom Thief to find themselves on Remnant. He wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, however, and clung to the minuscule figure in his arms desperately as he felt the tears he had long thought dried up spring to the surface once more.

He felt Futaba wrap her arms around him in return, and Akira felt that he was finally, _finally_ home.


	9. Alibaba

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **9, Alibaba**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _I have NO idea what is going on with chapter 8. Some seconds its there, some seconds its not. It kinda freaks me out, like my story is haunted or something. Oooooh, spooooky._

 _I have gotten a lot of reviews on the last chapter, so forgive me if I do not respond directly! Instead, I will just do a general response that includes answers to most of the questions asked._

 _Futaba is going to be the only member of the Phantom Thieves besides Akira to have made it to Remnant. The rest... well, they are prisoners, though neither Akira nor Futaba will ever know that. She does **not**_ _have access to her Persona, nor any abilities relating to her Persona, but she has gained something that serves as the same thing without being magic in nature. Akira is going to be the only Persona user to appear on Remnant, even if his Persona work slightly different than they used to._

 _I am pretty partial to most of the love interests in P5, I'm not going to lie. Ohya and Chihaya were like, my least favorites, however. This being said, Akira and Futaba are going to have a very close sibling relationship, while being close enough to make others question if they were lying or not. Futaba doesn't seem to know what personal space means as far as Akira is concerned, and I could definitely see some awkward scenes happening as a result of her trying to jump on him while he's sleeping._

 _HOW Futaba survived shall be explained in theory, but considering the nature of their existence within Remnant, they will never have any solid answers._

 _The Branwen Conspiracy is now a damn thing, thank you Ricky!_

 _The White Fang are still coming, no worries, as are scenes involving the many criminal elements within Vale. It is still really early into the story line I have planned out, surprisingly, so please stick around a bit longer for the action/crime bits!_

 _No worries about me burning myself out, I might take a few days in between posting every so often to gather my thoughts and take the time to edit my work a bit as I go! Thank you as always, you wonderful bastard, you! You know who I'm talking about, anywho!_

 **[PL]**

There were many things that she wanted to say, but Futaba couldn't find it in herself to say them. After months of living as an urchin in the desert Kingdom of Vacuo, she had finally found the rumored cafe that specialized in curry and coffee.

For five months after awakening in an alley in a strange desert city calling itself a Kingdom, she had barely scraped by, having to pickpocket people when she could, and when she couldn't, eat whatever she could gather from trashcans and dumpsters. It was a disgusting way to live, and she had nearly ended it all and allowed herself to waste away, but a rumor, _one single rumor_ , is all that she had to stop herself.

Word had started to get around Vacuo of a frizzy haired Faunus teenager who ran a strangely named cafe in Vale, one that specialized in curry and coffee, of all possible combinations a cafe could specialize in.

The keywords coffee, curry, and frizzy haired Faunus teenager caught her ears, but the women speaking to one another had disappeared around a corner before Futaba could figure out who was speaking to question them.

It wasn't much to go on, and the Faunus part threw her for a loop, but she just _knew_ it had to be Akira, the only person she would ever consider family outside of Sojiro, her adoptive father.

With renewed vigor, she had gotten to work picking as many pockets and stealing as many different Scrolls as she could, pulling twenty to fifty Lien from each bank account linked to the stolen Scrolls. To prevent herself from getting caught through tracking programs, Futaba would sell them off after getting what she wanted from them for prices that were almost too low to be worth it.

It had taken another month of constant work, but Futaba had finally saved up enough for a ticket to Vale, as well as a temporary passport. If she was correct in her hunch, she knew it would be nothing to get Akira's help in securing herself a permanent residence within Vale, but if not...

She didn't want to think about the what if's, so she didn't. It was with desperately high hopes that she arrived in Vale and started her search immediately. It hadn't taken but five minutes of asking around for 'Leblanc' before she got a hit and was pointed in the direction of the building she had stood before for some time before she worked up the courage to tap on the door.

It was nearly midnight by the time she had arrived, and she was almost hesitant to even check her hunch so late, but the abyss that had opened up in her stomach prevented her from thinking about anything else.

Out of all of the members of the Phantom Thieves, Akira was her closest friend in a group of friends. He was her brother figure, her moral compass and mentor all in once, and if she were honest with herself, someone she, at one point, had a major crush on. He was her pillar of support and her ray of light all at once, and the thought that he might have made it to Remnant as well was enough for her to ignore the sickening feeling of doubt and eventually approach the almost unmistakable cafe she had loved like home.

To finally see him after months of thinking she was alone was enough to drive her to near madness.

Futaba wasn't sure how to describe her emotional state presently. She knew she was somewhere in between elation, pure joy, and deep depression that seemed to all want to make themselves known at once.

In between nigh-hysterical laughter and tears, she tried to speak and try to ask how he was alive, only to fail each time. From the way his own tears seemed to soak into her shirt as his body trembled beneath her harsh hold upon him, she could tell he wouldn't be speaking either.

After a few moments, the tall figure beneath her brought his face away from the crook of her neck and stared deeply into her eyes, burning crimson locking with shining mauve for the first time in close to seven months.

"Give me just a moment, I need to shut the door before more crowds decide to show up," Akira trailed off while glancing away from the diminutive figure doing her best to stand from her position of being sprawled out on top of him, "We have a lot to talk about, and I don't want any distractions."

"Agreed," Futaba quipped, a beaming smile appearing on her tear stained face, "Do... do you think you can make me some curry while we talk?"

"I'd be delighted to, Futaba," Akira didn't miss a beat as he gently shut the door to Leblanc Deux and made his way towards the kitchen, "Same as always?"

"Yeah, that'd be friggin' great," The orange haired navigator took her 'usual' spot at the counter while she did her best to memorize the slightly different layout of the new Leblanc, "You really did a good job in keeping it close to the original, Akira, though I'm not surprised considering it's you we're talking about."

"I... just wanted to go home," Akira admitted as he fired up the stove to start preheating a few different pans he would need for cooking the curry Sojiro style, "I had all of the loot from our previous runs in my bag, so I sold a few gems and... well, you can see for yourself."

"I can," Futaba giggled lightly with a slight hiccup interrupting towards the end, "Ugh, I need coffeeee~! Hurry it up so we can talk already!"

Akira complied with a heavy laugh, another tear springing up in his eyes upon hearing the familiar impatience of Futaba. Grabbing a canister beneath the counter, he scooped a good amount of coffee beans into his roaster before setting them to grind in five minutes. Another few presses of a button on the side and he set the grounds to brewing immediately the grinding process was completed.

"My house blend is as close as I can get it to the original, same with the curry," Akira explained as he leaned against the counter just before her, "So, let's talk. How are you... still alive? Do you think the others made it as well?"

"I... well, my _theory_ is that I survived due to my identity as the original Medjed," Futaba eventually answered while tracing her finger in a circle upon the counter, losing herself in her thoughts while trying to not ramble, "The world forgot the Phantom Thief Oracle, but they never forgot my actions as a hacker. As for the others... well, I think the only one who _might_ have survived besides me and you is Haru due to her being slightly well known after the death of her father, but..."

She slapped her hand onto the counter in both anger and sadness, though she quickly withdrew it from the wooden surface and shook it while hissing lightly. "I've been homeless these past few months, you know."

Akira stilled and leaned forward while placing either hand on the counter, his palms facing upwards. Futaba seemed to understand what he wanted and placed either of her hands in his, marveling at the feeling of her diminutive hands being engulfed by his own. She craved the feeling of his arms around her and desired nothing more than to leap into his embrace once more, but refrained.

His thumb came to caress the back of his hand while a green aura surrounded his crimson gloved hands, slowly easing the pain that Futaba felt from the ruptured blood vessels in her hands until it was gone completely.

If Futaba was surprised at Akira's ability to heal, she hid it well while continuing where she left off.

"I thought I was all alone, too... even lived in an abandoned shack on the outskirts of that damn desert and dumpster dove for food and resources," Futaba explained lowly as she squeezed her brother figures, almost feeling as if she were back there, alone once more, "But now I have you! I'm not alone anymore! I... I can finally take a shower, and sleep in a real bed, right?"

"Everything that is mine, is yours." Akira affirmed with steel in his tone, leaving no room for confusion whatsoever, "You're welcome to use my shower and take my bed, I can sleep on my couch."

"Thank you..." Futaba whispered as she watched Akira rise to retrieve her coffee before preparing it just how she liked it, "You remembered all of that, huh?"

"How could I forget?" Akira worked quickly, gently spooning two cubes of sugar into the steaming beverage while walking it to the fridge for the next ingredients, "Two sugars, a dash of milk, whipped cream and chocolate syrup over the house blend."

Futaba sighed happily as the familiar aroma of coffee filled the air, nearly making the mistake of thinking she were back in Yongen for a moment. Glancing to the right, she stared at the image of every member of the Phantom Thieves crowded around Akira, just days after his supposed 'Death' as Joker.

Below the picture sat four crimson candles and an incense stand, telling her all she needed to know about why Akira had placed the photograph where he did. In the place of Sayuri, Akira had instead crafted a shrine where he could mourn his losses while attempting to move on with his life.

"Order up, Futaba," Akira called out to get her attention while coming in quickly with her curry and rice, setting down her coffee and food at once while making his way around the counter to sit beside her, "If you want anything else, just ask."

"Thank you, Akira, this smells just like I remember..." Futaba trailed off while reaching for the spoon her only living friend had set by her plate before digging in, "Oh, hot hot hot!"

Akira rolled his eyes fondly as he waited for her to finish, a large, genuine smile upon his face as he took in her appearance a bit better than before.

Around her shoulders she wore a sandy colored cloak that came down to her navel, revealing her stomach and widening hips just below the hem of her top. Beneath her cloak, she had bound her chest with bandages that had seen better days with a small, ragged black tank top over that. Tight black biker shorts covered her bottom, though they were just as short as Akira remembered while tall, black combat boots protected her feet.

All in all, Akira could tell her clothing had been through the ringer, as had her hair due to months of neglect. Her usually bright orange locks seemed to be dulled and frayed from the lack of proper hydration and conditioning. It made his heart clench in a way that nearly caused him to physically grab his chest in pain.

His smile quickly faded into a frown as he continued to observe the girl he considered his little sister, already planning on how to get her back on her feet and content once more.

"By the way... what's up with the kitty ears?" Futaba questioned lightly while pointing her spoon at him, "Are they real?"

From the way they flicked twice and how brightly her eyes lit up, Akira could tell he was about to have a problem on his hands.

"Futaba, don't even think about it," Akira started lowly as she rose from her seat slowly, her eyes locked upon the top of his head, "I'm warning you, I will _tickle_ you!"

"Pfft, like I'm scared of some scrawny cat boy," Futaba was not deterred in the least by his words, her hand quickly reaching out and grasping one of his ears between her fingers gently, "Oh. My. Glob... they're _real_..."

Akira fought the urge to purr, which was indeed something he could do now, and instead focused on how smooth her hands felt upon his slightly sensitive appendages. "Yes, they're real, now stop that please."

"Why?" Futaba questioned as she eventually released his ear and leaned forward to get a better look at the two large cat ears upon his head, "You obviously liked it, you were _purring_."

"Because it's _awkward_ , Futaba," Akira didn't whine, men didn't whine after all, "I'm serious, stop touching my ears! Why are you laughing like that, stop!"

Futaba didn't stop laughing for a good ten minutes as she continued to play with his ears, almost forgetting her coffee and curry as she relished the feeling of being in the presence of Akira once more.

 **[PL]**

Blake tapped lightly at Akira's door while humming under her breath, having just returned from spending a few hours reading at Tukson's while selecting a few books she wanted to order for her collection.

Tukson had asked her to pass along a request for a discount on Akira's maid services, something that caused Blake no small amount of amusement at how desperate the man seemed in getting her to agree.

If she happened to get a discount on her favorite book series as a result of passing along the request, she wouldn't complain. Considering how much Akira seemed to like Blake, Tukson thought it would be easier for her to get Akira to agree than if he had asked.

She didn't have to wait long for his door to open, revealing not only Akira already ready for bed, but a small, orange haired girl sprawled out on his bed with a towel around her hair, playing on one of his large Scrolls.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I... didn't know you had company," Blake trailed off, her voice torn between surprise and pain, "I can wait, sorry about that."

"It's fine, Blake, come on in," Akira gestured his house mate into his room while taking a seat on the edge of his bed once more, "Futaba, this is Blake Belladonna, she's been sleeping in the loft and working for me the past few months. Blake, this is Futaba Sakura, someone from my past that I thought was..."

He didn't need to finish his sentence, Blake being able to fill in the gap quite easily. Akira had assumed she had died, for whatever reason, and from the expression on his face, it was clear he was extremely relieved to be proven wrong.

"You've never really talked about your past," Blake noted lightly while stalking to the edge of his bed while extending her hand towards Futaba, "It's very nice to meet you, Futaba."

"Oh, you didn't tell me you had a roomie, Akira," Futaba turned and gave him an accusing glare before taking Blake's hand and shaking it gently, "He hasn't been a task driver, has he?"

"No, nothing like that," Blake denied quickly in Akira's defense, "He has been very patient and understanding with me. I would probably still be living in an alley, if it wasn't for Akira."

"Really now..." Futaba trailed off with a fond smile tugging at her lips, glancing at Akira once more as he reached up to scratch the back of his neck sheepishly, "That sounds so much like him it's not even funny. He has a thing for picking up strays, you know?"

"Yeah, I got that impression as well," Blake chuckled lowly while giving him a look of amusement at his friends admission, "You didn't tell me you have a girlfriend, Akira."

"I...we...No no no, you-" Futaba stuttered in shock at the quick change in subject, tapping her fingers together while looking downwards, "No, he's like my big brother!"

While her words rang true, Blake could tell that there was a story behind her reaction, one that she doubted either would tell her quite yet. It wasn't her place to question his relationship status, but Blake would be a filthy liar if she said that she wasn't slightly interested in Akira as more than friends.

Being assured that the two were as close as family set her nerves at ease, causing her posture to become slightly less defensive than before while relaxing minutely.

Akira didn't say anything, instead just shaking his head in the negative while giving Blake a questioning look, one that she pretended to not see as she memorized the face and body of the small teenager sprawled out in her bosses bed.

"I see... well, it was nice to meet you, Futaba," Blake nodded towards the orange haired teenager before turning her attention to Akira once more, "Tukson wants a discount for your little maid service, by the way, he gave me a discount on my books to ask you nicely."

With that said, Blake turned on her heels and made her way to the door with a noticeable sway to her hips, drawing the attention of Akira and Futaba alike as she stalked away.

"Wow, she has a really nice butt," Futaba commented lightly before turning her attention back to the large Scroll in her lap, "Do you plan on breaking her heart as well, cuz' it's pretty obvious she's into you."

"We both know I don't do it on purpose..." Akira sighed while running a hand through his hair before standing and making his way to the couch, "I'm going to turn in, have to open up in a few hours. Sleep well, Futaba, get me up if you need _anything_."

"You know you don't have to sleep on the couch, right?" Futaba rose a brow while sliding the large Scroll shut and placing it on the bedside table before patting the spot next to her, "Come on, please? I... don't want to sleep alone, if that's okay?"

Akira stopped, spun on his heels and marched back to his bed once more before hopping into his normal spot and pulling the small, orange haired ball of sarcasm into his side. "Of course it's okay, Futaba. Sleep well, and sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams, Joker," Futaba yawned before leaning her towel covered head upon his chest and closing her eyes, "I'm so glad I found you..."

"Me too, Futaba," Akira whispered lowly, though just loud enough for her to hear, "Me too... I'm sorry for not looking for you, please forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive, silly," The previous navigator for the Phantom Thieves yawned once more, this time a bit more loudly before smacking her lips in content, "Now shush and go to sleep already, jeez!"

"Yes ma'am."

 **[PL]**

Ozpin stood rigidly at the back entrance of Beacon hidden deep in the Emerald Forest, either hand clasped firmly behind his back as he waited almost impatiently for Qrow to arrive with Amber in tow. He had received a call only an hour prior, informing him of an ambush on the Fall Maiden while requesting immediate pickup by one of Beacon's Bullheads.

The Headmaster had dispatched Glynda and his best pilots to retrieve the two, being some thirty minutes away by air travel at the most.

'So you've finally made your move, Salem...' Ozpin thought to himself bitterly while glancing at the skyline once more, 'To think you've figured out how to steal the Maiden's powers, as well...'

The troubled frown upon his face grew more pronounced as he recalled the hasty conversation between himself and Qrow before shaking his head to clear his thoughts so that he could focus on the present. The sound of a rapidly approaching Bullhead drew his attention away from the rising sun and towards the large contraption slowly lowering itself to ground level just a dozen feet from him.

Moving as quickly as his weakened body would allow him, Ozpin met Qrow and Glynda at the door as they helped a slightly delirious Amber from her seat and to the ground level. "She's not doing good, Oz. She refuses to lay down and her aura levels aren't recovering."

"Let's get her inside, quickly now." Ozpin placed a hand upon the back of the brown haired woman behind supported by his two inner circle members and began to channel his mana actively to bolster her aura levels slightly.

The four made their way into the interior of Beacon as quickly as Amber's slow gait would allow before eventually they were deep beneath the school in an area simply known as The Vault. Guiding her to one of the medical pods set off to the side, Ozpin allowed Amber to slump onto the padded white mattress while continuously calling upon his magical reserves to help heal her.

"I need to know what I'm looking for," Ozpin spoke, direction his questioning towards Qrow as he tried to stabilize the quickly fading Fall Maiden, "What happened to her to put her in this state?"

"I don't know _what_ it was, but it looked like someone was trying to _steal_ her powers using... I dunno, some type of Grimm that crawled out of her hand?" Qrow started quickly while tilting his head slightly as if thinking heavily on his answer, "I can't really describe it, Oz, I've never seen anythin' like it and I've been around the block a bit."

"A Grimm that can steal the Maiden's power...?" Ozpin shook his head in both confusion and disgust upon hearing how Amber came to be in such a state, "Why do you think that her powers were being stolen?"

"The woman in red gained a golden glow around her eyes that looked just like the one Amber get's when I piss her off too much," Qrow winced upon seeing the ugly look sent his way by the wounded female currently laying upon the medical bed between the three, "Kind of like that one, except more fire and lightning everywhere, usually."

Ozpin kept his comments about Qrow's glib to himself, knowing that the man was currently trying to lighten the mood to prevent the brown haired woman from panicking.

"Thanks for the warning, Headmaster, I think you may have saved my life in asking us to return early..." Amber trailed off, having finally spoken up after quite some time spent in silence, "I'm so cold, and sleepy..."

"It's going to be alright, Amber, we're going to take good care of you, I promise," Ozpin reached out and clasped his hand around her own before squeezing gently to reassure her, "Save your breath and rest, you've just gone through something I didn't even know was possible..."

The Headmaster continued to question Qrow for quite some time on the identity of the Maiden's assailants as he worked before eventually satisfying his need for answers. Amber had fallen into a deep, almost comatose slumber an hour into Ozpin's attempt in stabilizing her damaged soul, eventually succeeding enough to allow her aura reserves to start replenishing themselves.

Sighing heavily, the gray haired man wiped his brow and allowed the time dilation field around himself and Amber to flicker and fade, once more causing time to resume its normal progression within his immediate vicinity. Standing and stretching his back while grabbing his cane from its resting position against her bed, the Headmaster of Beacon made his way to the elevator while sending Qrow a text to meet him once more, this time in his office.

A few minutes later saw the man reaching into the small refrigerator beneath his desk and popping the cork from one of the many bottles of Leblanc Deux cold-brew coffee. Taking a deep draft of the dark elixir, Ozpin sighed in content as he waited for his best and only field agent to arrive.

It never took long for the scythe wielder known for his alcoholism to arrive, leaving very little time for Ozpin to retrieve the file he needed Qrow to peruse from the confines of his desk.

Glancing down at the photographs of Akira Kurusu, Qrow Branwen, Raven Branwen and Yang Xiao Long, the Headmaster prepared himself to confront his agent on what he had dubbed the 'Branwen Conspiracy' and his supposed role in it all.

He wasn't surprised when Qrow arrived moments later, his face schooled into a serious expression that was fitting for the conversation the two were about to have.

"You called, Oz?"

"Yes, I did. Come take a seat Qrow, I think we need to have a nice, long talk about something..."


	10. It's a conspiracy!

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **10, It's a conspiracy!**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 **[PL]**

"Oz, I want you to be straight with me... what the hell have you been drinking? What is in that bottle right there?" Qrow questioned with wide eyes as he leaned back in his chair, "Is this some sort of prank?"

"I am not joking, Qrow, you should know better than that by now," Ozpin chided as he leaned forward slightly, his fingers laced before his face as he eyed his long time agent, "Don't try to play coy, just answer the question."

"You _really_ want to know how many times I've had unprotected sex in the last seventeen years?" Qrow crossed his arms and tilted his head, his brows furrowing slightly at the seriousness in the Headmasters questioning, "I... uh, really don't know. More than fifty, that's for sure..."

The way Qrow trailed off and glanced to the right in thought made Ozpin palm his forehead in frustration at the answer. "What was one of the few things I asked of you before I happened to give you the ability to transform into a crow?"

"... To stop being a manwhore because you didn't know if magic was genetic, in those exact words?" Qrow questioned more than stated, causing Ozpin to sigh heavily before nodding his head in the affirmative to confirm his statement, "Wow, so you're pissed off that I've been getting some action on the side without a rubber?"

"Must you be so crude, Qrow?" Ozpin questioned lowly while glaring at his subordinate, "Essentially, you are correct."

Qrow snorted and shrugged his shoulders before leaning forward once more. "Alright, you _have_ to tell me why you're asking this, now. Come on, lay it on me, Oz, why are you so interested in my sex life, hmmm?"

Ozpin flipped the manilla folder on his desk open, rotated it so it was facing Qrow before sliding it across his desk. "Observe, my feathered friend. Now, I want you to be honest with me, Qrow... Is he _yours, or is he Raven's?"_

The agent of the Headmaster reached out shakily, taking two of the photographs, namely the picture of his sister and the stranger that bore a _terrifying_ resemblance to not only himself, but his sister.

The stranger in the photograph was young, still a teenager from the looks of it. He was wearing an _expensive_ suit that probably cost more than Qrow had invested into all of his clothing put together, something that stood out amongst all of the details Qrow perceived.

Ebony hair that fell into his eyes in thick curls and waves were held back by thick frame glasses while burning, ominously crimson eyes stared back at the corvian man, sending chills down his spine at the familiar sight that was equally as unfamiliar at the same time.

The small smile upon the figures face and the curling of the edges of his eyes upwards seemed to paint a picture of amusement, if Qrow hadn't been as well versed in reading people as he was. Everything about the posture of the figure and the look on his face, not to mention his _eyes, gods those eyes,_ it practically screamed Raven. At the same time, however, Qrow could see a lot of himself in the teenager as well, despite the clear difference in species.

Qrow wasn't a racist and had bedded more Faunus women than he had Human women, especially due to how wild the former was in the sack compared to the latter. Quite a few feline Faunus came to mind from moments in his past, some drunken and others stone cold sober, at least five, give or take.

The fact that he was having this conversation with Ozpin at all blew his mind, and for multiple different reasons.

"I... I'm pretty damn sure I'm infertile, Oz. I can't _have_ children, not after the accident in my second year." Qrow set down the photographs with a deep frown on his face, his slightly faded red eyes gaining a gaze that seemed to go for miles, "Who is this? What's his name, where is he from, and _why_ does it matter to you?"

"Well, sometimes miracles happen you know," Ozpin chided while rolling his index and middle fingers against his desk in a rhythm Qrow couldn't follow, "His name is Akira Kurusu, seventeen years old with a completely blank past. In just a few months of appearing in Vale with a false background, he opened a cafe named Leblanc Deux just off of Main Street."

"Okay, so what do you mean by a false background?" Qrow placed either elbow on his knees while resting his jaw in both hands, "Like his name is fake, or what?"

"The locations he has listed as past residences, Yongen and Shibuya, do not exist. It's just that. There are _no_ records of this man _anywhere_ in the records of Atlas, Mistral or Vacuo, and the only information he has listed here in Vale only gives us his name." Ozpin listed off while pulling up the video he had captured from multiple angles of Akira dashing through the Emerald Forest with swords, spears and arrows of light forming around him.

The strangest thing about the videos, however, made Qrow lean back in his chair in shock. The sight of Grimm actually _running in fear_ was a little strange, sure, but it was the blue flame-like wisps of energy that bled from his eyes and around his feet that was his cause for concern.

"Just like Amber's eyes..." Qrow murmured while turning his gaze towards Ozpin, gesturing a bit wildly with one hand as he spoke, "You told me only _women_ could be Maiden's, and this kid is clearly male. What the hell is going on here, Ozpin?"

"I was hoping you would tell _me_ , Qrow. Tell me, do you know what _Kurusu_ translates to in Valean?" Ozpin questioned lightly while pulling another paper from the depths of the manilla folder on his desk, "Cross. His last name is _Cross_. What is your personal symbol again?"

"A... a skewed cross..." Qrow whispered while turning his gaze back to the video of Akira as he continued to slaughter Grimm while laughing almost maniacally, "He... certainly _reminds_ me of Raven, and me..."

"Yes, that's the problem... So, do you think he is _yours_ , or Raven's?" Ozpin questioned again, causing Qrow to look up and stare, unable to come up with a proper answer in the least.

"I... don't know, we don't know he's a Branwen at all!" Qrow eventually stood from his chair and started pacing, "Damn it, Oz, why did you have to do this to me?"

The thought that he _might_ have a kid was enough to make Qrow sick to his stomach. Not at the thought of having a child, no, but at the thought of leaving behind someone he had an obligation to help raise.

While it was true that Qrow had turned his back on the Branwen's, it was due to the nature of their existence. His _real_ family, such as Yang, Ruby, Tai and Raven... He couldn't imagine ever abandoning them, not without a _damn_ good reason. The thought of some stranger named Akira actually being his bastard son that he'd never met or known existed nearly caused him to shut down, especially due to how similar he looked to both Raven and himself.

If it turned out that he was Raven's, however... Qrow didn't know how he would feel. If he didn't know who his mother was and had been abandoned like Yang, he would do his best to bring Akira into the family and try and make things right. If he knew who Raven was and was operating as her agent within Vale, then that complicated things tremendously.

Just what did the Branwen Tribe want, operating within one of the four Kingdoms? Their modus operandi implied that they would remain in the wilds of Anima for at least another few years before moving again, likely towards the outskirts of the Tundras of Solitas.

Raven was a recluse and had consolidated the many different splinter groups owing allegiance to the Branwen under one banner after the death of their father at her hands. She had little time for romance, let alone the actual _urges_ that a normal woman might have felt in securing herself a permanent partner. What she had with Taiyang was done out of spite, though she had never come out and admitted it.

Raven had known that Summer had fallen in love with Taiyang and decided to take him first, just to prove herself superior to the kindly, silver eyed warrior he called his best friend. The fact that she had another child outside of Yang was far out of left field for Qrow, having sworn she had said she wasn't going through pregnancy again.

It was pretty well known that Raven was a barely functioning sociopath, so for her to bed another man outside of Taiyang seemed a bit... _wild_ , to Qrow.

Due to his nature as her twin, there was no doubt that the possibility of _his_ children looking like _her_ existed, but it was a bit eerie to see what might as well be a male clone of his sister with large cat ears on the top of his head.

Ozpin continued to watch Qrow closely as he paced back and forth, coming to the conclusion that he _didn't_ know about Akira, or had become an exceptionally skilled liar in the span of a few weeks while wandering the country side.

The fact that Akira had listed his name as Kurusu was not at all odd by itself, at least until one looked at what the name meant. Having someone that not only looked like a Branwen, but wore their colors and happened to use 'Cross' as his alias?

Either he was the son of Qrow had no idea of his lineage whatsoever, his son who was raised by Raven, or he was the second child of Raven herself. Neither option painted a very clear picture of what his intentions were, where he gained his abilities or who he worked for besides the obvious.

"I want you to try and learn everything you can about him, perhaps get more information from him about who he is working for. He claims he is an orphan who didn't know who his parents were and implied he was abandoned, so he might be your nephew and not your son." Ozpin declared while sliding the contents of the manilla folder towards Qrow once more, "I will be honest with you, Qrow... I want to think he might be a potential ally in our fight against Salem, but... if he is anything like his aunt or mother and not like you..."

"Yeah... I'll get started right away. If you'll excuse me, I have a cafe to stake out." Qrow grabbed the manilla folder and turned on his heels without saying anything else, likely so lost in thought that he wouldn't be capable of answering any further questioning until he went to see Akira for himself.

Ozpin watched his agent leave with his shoulders hunched, his hands settling in his pockets after slapping the button to send the elevator to the ground floor once more. Reaching below his desk once more, he withdrew his second bottle of cold-brew coffee before popping the cork and immediately chugging the contents like he was at a wild frat party and it was the last bottle of beer.

Gasping for air after downing the entire bottle, he let out a low belch and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before scoffing lowly and looking towards his large Scroll once more.

"God damn Branwen's..."

 **[PL]**

"Uncle Qrow, are you alright?" Yang watched her uncle like a hawk as he stumbled to the kitchen table and slumped into his usual spot, "You're looking... extra sloppy today."

"Yeah, never better," Qrow answered absentmindedly, not really paying attention to the blond as he slapped some mashed potatoes onto his plate before reaching for the beef, "Everything is _juuuust_ dandy."

"Ohhhkay then?" Yang questioned more than stated, tilting a brow at the strange behavior of the usually drunk man, "Seriously, what's up with you?"

"You... wouldn't understand," Qrow eventually decided to pull the adult card, "I'll tell you when you're older."

"I'm seventeen, a legal adult now?" Yang crossed her arms over her chest, completely ignoring her food now that she had a target for her current irritation, "Don't try that crap with me, spill it! What's got your panties into a wad, hmm?"

"God damnit, Yang," Qrow groaned as he felt her poke him in the ribs twice, causing him to lurch to the side and directly into Ruby, who had been listening to her music and ignoring the world in peace until that very moment, "Don't you start with me either, Ruby!"

"Start with what?" Ruby didn't seem like she was completely paying attention as she mouthed the words to her favorite song before unleashing a rapid barrage of pokes into Qrow's opposite side, "Don't worry, I got your back, Yang!"

"Thanks, Rubes," Yang gave her little sister a beaming smile before turning her attention to her drunk uncle once again, "Now come on, I'll stop irritating you when you start talking!"

It only took a few minutes for him to crack under the assault of the two daughters of Taiyang.

"Fine, jeez you two are spoiled brats!" Qrow growled as he threw both hands into the air in defeat, nearly covering the room in his leftovers, "I don't want to tell you because I don't know if it's true or not, alright?"

"If _what_ is true or not?" Yang clenched her jaw and leaned in closer, not quite angry but still wanting answers on why her normally sarcastically happy uncle was so morose, "Tick tock, old man!"

"I can't tell you, Yang, not yet," Qrow eventually got out, glancing at the clock above Taiyang's stove before shrugging out of Yang's grasp, "I suddenly have a strong urge for some coffee... I'll be back later, brats, don't stay up too late."

"Wait, are you going to Leblanc Deux?" Ruby questioned excitedly, practically leaping from her seat before running to wrap her arms tightly around the waist of her favorite uncle, "Please take me with you! Pleasepleasepleaseplease!"

Yang had perked up as well, though for different reasons than her sister. Her last encounter with the smoking hot barista was still fresh on her mind from a few weeks prior, having felt a strong draw towards the black haired teenager for some reason or another that refused to leave her alone. She, too, found herself launching herself forward to wrap around the shoulders of her uncle while joining her sister in pestering him once more.

"Fine, fine! You're going to be the ones explaining to Tai why you can't sleep tonight, not me." Qrow quickly informed them while jerking his head towards the door, "Let's go, brats, before my targ- er, before they can close for the night."

Ruby hadn't caught his slip, but Yang had. Her lilac eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing the beginning of the word 'Target', knowing that her uncle acted as some sort of information gatherer on the side when he wasn't teaching at Signal.

Just why was he targeting Akira, of all people, and why did she suddenly feel the need to warn Akira?

It didn't take twenty minutes for the small group of three to depart from Taiyang's home on Patch and arrive in Vale proper by Bullhead. The sun had already set by the time they made it to Leblanc Deux, though the cafe was just as crowded as it usually.

"So this is the place, huh?" Qrow raised a brow as he looked around the small cafe, taking in the sights quickly and commemorating the layout to memory, "It's... nicer than I expected. _Way_ nicer."

"What did you expect," Ruby questioned curiously while stepping on her tip-toes to wave at Akira cheerfully, "This place is heaven on Remnant, of course it's nice!"

"Yeah, I dunno If I'd go that far," Yang drawled while sashaying towards the counter before hopping into one of the empty stools, "Hey there, sexy, did you miss me?"

Qrow choked on his spit and his face drew up into a severe grimance upon hearing the flirtatious words of his niece, only for it to grow even worse when the barista flirted back just as quickly.

'Oh my fuck, if only they knew who they were flirting with...' Qrow thought to himself as his eyes widened to the point they almost fell from his head, 'This is so wrong... so, so wrong.'

"Of course I missed you, beautiful," Akira called out while setting down a to-go box of his 'famous' sweet green curry while calling out for a pickup, "Same as last time?"

"You know it," Yang grinned upon hearing that he remembered their orders, "This is my uncle, Qrow Branwen. Uncle Qrow, this is my third favorite black haired person on Remnant, Akira... er, I actually don't know your last name."

"Kurusu," Akira eventually stated his last name as he made his way back to the counter before them after setting their grounds to roast, "And what will you be having tonight, sir?"

"Er... don't sir me, kid, it makes me feel old," Qrow grumbled under his breath while locking eyes with the figure who may as well have been a younger, male clone of his sister in looks, "I'll have whatever they're having, I guess."

"An extra-large chocolate chip latte with three coffee cakes, coming right up," Akira listed the order so that his newest customer would know what he was getting, "I actually have a new flavor of cakes, if you'd like to try them."

"Oh, what is it? Is it strawberry?! Please tell me it's strawberry!" Ruby grew more and more excited as she placed her hands on the counter and leaned forward slightly with stars in her eyes, "It's strawberry, isn't it?"

"It's strawberry," Akira smiled lightly as he made his way to the fridge to withdraw the most recent batch of cakes before selecting nine and splitting them up on three different plates, "I remember you asking about the flavors last time, and strawberry was basically the only flavor I didn't have that made sense in a cake."

"Oh. My. Goodness... I... I think I'm in love," Ruby gushed as she quickly snatched one of the cat-head shaped cakes before bringing it to her mouth a split second later, consuming the whole thing in one bite before melting in her seat into a puddle previously known as Ruby Rose, "It... it's perfect..."

Yang was the next to take a bite of her cake before it fell from her hands and impacted her plate heavily. Akira stopped what he was doing and took a step closer towards the three, a look of concern on his face as he leaned over slightly to get a better look at Yang.

"Is everything okay, Yang?" Akira was actually worried for a moment, especially knowing that some people had allergies towards certain foods, "You... aren't allergic, are you?"

Yang quickly reached out and snagged him by the shoulder before bringing him closer, her lilac eyes boring into his crimson eyes like a drill into the surface of the planet. "You... how do you do it?"

Akira was only slightly bothered by the contact, though he didn't let it show. Instead, he smiled innocently while cocking his head to the side to denote his confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm sure you'll elaborate if I ask nicely."

"You're... too goddamn much, Akira, it just doesn't make sense," Yang released her hold upon his shoulder upon seeing his crimson eyes flash towards her hand almost minutely, "You not only look like a freaking super model, but you can cook and clean as well? What's next, are you going to tell me you're a masseur?"

The wicked smile that crossed his face made Qrow so uncomfortable that he had to physically restrain himself from splitting the two up, especially when Yang returned his sultry smile scant seconds later.

'I... I don't understand, and I don't think I want to anymore.'

 **[PL]**

"This is the third time this week." Akira sighed as he ended the call between Leopold, the scarred lion Faunus he hired as a bodyguard for his maids, and himself, "Yet again, that degenerate Hei Xiong is attempting to extort my maids for protection money."

"That's... really annoying," Futaba mused as she tapped away at the large scroll in her lap, quickly pulling up a program to run his name in Vale's official database, "Give me a second, let me see what I can find on him... and, done."

Handing the Scroll to Akira, Futaba leaned back onto Akira's bed and laid either hand beneath her head, humming happily as she waited for him to scan the profile of the dark haired man that continued to cause problems for his employees.

"Hmm... it says here that he's been arrested for attempting to extort one of the Councilmen, racketeering and even insider trading? What a peculiar rap sheet..." Akira murmured thoughtfully as he continued to flick through the information brought up on one of the Scroll's he gifted to Futaba, "Thanks. I'll be back in an hour or two, so wait up for me please."

"You're going to confront him, aren't you?" Futaba questioned lightly, not at all bothered by the fact that Akira might end up resorting to violence to get the man to back off, "You've always been over-protective, why am I not surprised?"

"Going to the police obviously isn't going to do anything," Akira gestured towards the rap sheet that was nearly two pages long in length, "People like him have to learn the hard way, and 'the hard way', this time, is through force. If I go to the cops, he will just think I'm some kind of pushover, and rumors have it that he's involved in some really shady stuff in the underworld of Vale."

"So you're about to willingly walk into his bar... and what?" Futaba rose a brow in curiosity, already having a hunch on what Akira planned on doing but felt the need to ask anyway, "Just walk up and bitch slap him?"

"Precisely," Akira nodded in affirmation, "Perhaps after a few choice words and a drink or two, but that's the gist of it, yes."

"Go for it, I'll keep an eye on the cameras and tell you if the police, or trouble, start heading your way," Futaba grinned as Akira leaned over her lithe frame and wrapped her into a tight embrace before releasing her, "Hurry back, I feel like whooping dat booty in some vidya'."

"Yes ma'am!" Akira rolled his eyes before making his way to his door, but not before pausing and glancing back at the orange haired teen sprawled out on his bed before smiling at her once more, "You really have no idea how glad I am to have you watching my back again, _Oracle_."

"Well, someone has to look out for your baby smooth ass, and I'm the _only_ one fit for the job," Futaba jabbed a thumb towards her chest in pride before sighing, "Be careful out there, Joker, I have a funny feeling in my tummy and it won't leave me alone."

"I will," Akira reached towards his dresser and removed the small mic placed on top of the wooden storage, "Just give me a heads up and I'll be out of there as quickly as I can."

"You got it boss," Futaba giggled lightly while tapping her own microphone to activate it, allowing the two to maintain contact no matter the distance thanks to the ability to bounce the signal off of the CCT on Beacon's campus, "See you soon."

Akira left soon after and began his walk to Unlucky Seven's before mounting his bike and pulling off. Ten minutes later, and the frizzy haired Faunus parked his bike on the curve just outside of Junior's before stepping off and fixing his coat.

Placing his helmet in storage, Akira glanced to his right at the long line of people waiting to gain entrance to 'The Club' before he proceeded towards the bouncer. He could have sworn he saw a shock of blond hair near the front of the line that was awfully familiar, but Akira had more pressing matters to attend to than potentially socializing.

"Back of the line, chief," The bouncer drawled as Akira approached, his arms coming up to cross over his broad chest while scowling heavily, "You should be lucky we even let your kind in here, punk."

"Ah, I see," Akira simply smiled as he came to a halt and tilted his head slightly before continuing, "Is Hei in tonight?"

"Boss is always here, now back of the li-"

Akira reached out and viciously backhanded the man, causing his head to impact the wall to his right and his body to slump to the ground.

Ignoring the gasps of shock coming from the line just outside the door of the club, Akira calmly stepped over the unconscious, nameless goon and made his way towards the bar. The sound of music filled the club, so loud that it nearly made Akira grimance from the sound waves violating his ears in ways he didn't think possible.

Passing through a crowd of people currently dancing their problems away on the black and white themed dance floor that slowly bled red, Akira slipped around those who grew too close before they could collide with him and drag him into the crowd of sweaty civilians.

It didn't take long for Akira to make his way through the pulsing and undulating gathering of party goers and towards the bar where he could see a black haired man dressed in a suit and vest combo speaking with a well dressed man in white. Sitting himself down at the bar and waiting patiently for the black haired man to make his way behind the counter once more, Akira eyed the two females dressed in white and red that stood by the bar before deciding they weren't worth wasting his time speaking with.

Just because he was a natural flirt didn't mean he had to speak with every woman that caught his eyes, even if they _were_ rather appealing. Akira had always wanted to fool around with twins, and he _wasn't_ talking about Caroline and Justine, his rather violent yet small Attendants.

"What can I get for you, kid?" Junior drawled while adjusting his tie slightly

"Hmmm..." Akira leaned back in his seat, throwing one arm over the back of the bar seat while tapping his forefinger and middle finger against the counter twice, "A scotch on the rocks, top shelf. Chop chop, I don't have all night now."

Junior watched the finely dressed teenager for a second while fighting back a sneer, a chill traveling down his spine from the intense, yet lazy look the teenager was giving him before he eventually nodded and turned to make his drink. Wordlessly, Akira turned his attention around the interior of the club before whistling lowly.

"I have to say, this is a rather nice place you have here, Hei," Akira started as soon as Junior set his drink down, bringing the glass upwards to examine almost lazily before he knocked it back and drained a small bit of the strong beverage, "Ah, how smooth..."

"Thanks," Junior tensed his shoulders as he continued to eye the strange teenager that set himself down at the bar as if it were the most natural place in the world for him to be, "So, what brings you to my club dressed in a suit that nice? Looking to try and buy me out?"

Akira shook his head in the negative while lifting the glass of scotch into the air slightly to allow the pulsing lights to pour through the amber liquid, "No, not quite, though that certainly _is_ an idea for later... hmm, perhaps I should open a lounge next? Perhaps even a casino..."

Junior could tell that the comments weren't aimed at him and chose to remain silent, instead observing the finely dressed figure as well as he could while being discreet about it.

From the corner of his eyes, he spied Roman still mulling about, waiting to finish their conversation while Miltia and Melanie gravitated a bit closer to the figure dressed in black and crimson.

"Well hello, good looking, what brings you to Junior's?" The female dressed in crimson questioned demurely as she came to sit at his right while her twin dressed in blues and whites took the seat to his left, "Looking for a good time, perhaps?"

"He doesn't seem like the type, Miltia," The black haired female dressed in icy white spoke up, a small smile on her face as she leaned over the counter slightly while propping her head up in her left hand, "Hmm, do I smell coffee?"

"Sorry, ladies, I'm here for business this time," Akira admitted while taking a small sip of his drink before lowering it once more, though not deigning to set it upon the counter to give either woman a chance to slip him a roofie, "Perhaps next time."

"Aww, that's no fun," Miltia spoke before turning her attention towards her sister, "Melanie, I don't think our friend here wants to play with us, whatever shall we do?"

"There are plenty of men to pick from, sister dearest, don't worry," Melanie rolled her eyes at the obvious dismissal from the black haired teenager, "Even if none of them are quite as good looking, or finely dressed."

Akira merely smiled and raised his glass to his lips once more, not speaking again until both rolled their eyes and dismissed themselves from the counter to find someone else to bother.

"I don't think I've ever seen someone turn down the twins like that," Junior spoke up after a second, trying his best to wrap his mind around the fact that there was a man out there who could deny their charm, "Are you gay or something?"

"No, nothing of the sort," Akira shook his head in the negative before shrugging his shoulders, "If I'm in need of... company, I certainly won't be looking for it in a club of all places."

"Well, that's kinda shitty, don'tchya think?" A voice called out as yet another figure set themselves down at the bar next to him, "Hey, quick question, but is that _your_ bike out front?"

Akira turned his attention away from Junior once more and towards the blond figure dressed in brown leaning against the counter while smiling at him brightly.

"Oh, well hello again, beautiful," Akira smiled lightly at the blond before patting the seat next to his, "Here, take a seat and let me order you a drink. To answer your question, yes, that _is_ my bike, why?"

"So that was _you_ I lost a race to a few weeks ago? Wow, you keep moving up on my list like you are and I might just have to ask _you_ out on a date instead of waiting for you to ask me, Akira." Yang fake purred while waggling her brows, causing Akira to laugh lightly while taking another small sip of his drink, "Seriously though, what brings you to this dive? I took you as more of a lounge kind of guy, honestly."

"Oh, a little of this, a little of that," Akira answered vaguely while gesturing towards her with his head, "And how about you?"

"Well Junior here happens to be an information broker, and I have a few questions I wanted to ask, but I think that can wait a bit longer. One strawberry sunrise, please, with _two_ of those fancy umbrella things."

"Coming right up..." Junior answered tensely upon hearing her refer to his job within the underworld of Vale, doing his best to keep calm as the black haired teenager dressed in crimson and black turned to eye him as a predator eyed their prey.

"Well, it seems we both have questions for Junior here," Akira's smile became darker, and even Yang felt herself gulping almost audibly upon seeing his pearly white teeth through his upward drawn lips, "But, as you said... I think I can wait a bit longer and enjoy my present company instead."

Yang couldn't fight down the small smile that appeared on her face upon hearing his words, nor the small blush. Placing her Scroll back into her pocket, she instead took her drink in hand and held it up for a toast. "To a good night!"

"To a good night, indeed." Akira called back before downing the last of his drink before raising a finger to gesture for another scotch, doing his best to ignore the nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach as he felt Yang's eyes come to rest upon him once more.

'Why do I keep getting the feeling of being watched when she's around?' Akira questioned in his head as he turned to regard the blond once more.

Had he looked up, he would have seen a crimson eyed crow watching him almost balefully from the rafters.


	11. A Very Branwen Brawl

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ __ _ **1**_ _ **1,**_ _ **A Very**_ _ **Branwen Brawl**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _Let me go ahead and start by saying that Akira will use only five different Persona throughout this story. The genre of this story is Hurt/Comfort with a bit of Humor, so please don't expect action scenes every chapter or even every other chapter._

 _I really want to focus on the fluffy, sometimes smutty and 'Aww' moments, but the mystery element involved with Ozpin steadily losing his mind in a literal conspiracy theory is a bit too much fun to stop now._

 _I know this **is** Akira we are talking about, so action and crime are basically a must. If I focus too much on the fighting, then I may as well change the tag completely, which I think I might end up doing here soon._

 _So, what Genre would you classify this story as? Humor?_

 _While WE know he isn't Raven's son, we also know that Belief is one hell of a drug. I think me saying that should be very telling in and of itself. There IS a reason Raven and Akira look so similar, and I swear one of my reviews basically already guessed why._

 _The matter concerning Akira's age is simple. It doesn't matter if he says he's seventeen and the timeline doesn't match up, especially considering Ozpin thinks he's lying about everything in the first place. Who is to say he isn't sixteen and didn't register himself as older to be a legal adult, or perhaps eighteen who made himself seem younger? For Ozpin, **anything** is possible._

 _Thank you as always, you glorious bastard, you, I swear I look forward to your review each chapter more than I probably should! Is my title going to get longer each chapter, by the way? How long until your entire review is just my title, about twenty chapters from now? C;_

 _An explination on his Persona and their abilities, or rather, how his Persona translate their 'stats' and skills unto him will come within a few chapters, so please be patient._

 _While I agree that it is cruel to have straight up admitted what happened to the Phantom Thieves, it's what would have happened in canon anyway. Without being there in the Velvet Room to make the deal or deny the deal, Akira has no way to even know that they are there in the first place, nor does he have a way of ever returning to free them. It's tragic, and I can understand if something like that was a bit too bitter of a pill for people to swallow._

 _Akira is living in blissful ignorance of their survival and entrapment, so is Futaba. They both think the rest are really dead, and that is probably for the better. If Akira and Futaba thought their comrades were alive and then realized they had absolutely no way of ever rescuing them, don't you think that would crush them?_

 _I've thought on the subject long and hard, and I've decided that there will be no way for Akira or Futaba to ever return home or ever figuring out about the 'survival' of the Phantom Thieves._

 **[PL]**

It hadn't taken long for Akira and Yang to fall into a steady, pleasant conversation just moments after Yang received her drink. Akira had ordered two more drinks himself and had finally called it quits upon finally feeling the effects of the strong amber elixir.

He wasn't completely immune to the effects of alcohol, but his tolerance to the liquid _had_ to be genetic, in his opinion. His father had been a heavy drinker while his mother was more of a socialite, causing Akira to almost completely swear the stuff off in an attempt to prevent himself from ending up like either. Turning his attention back to the amber drink, he couldn't help but appreciate the difference between top shelf brands and the common whiskey blends that were offered on the bottom.

His preferred drink, a single malt scotch served over ice, happened to be a bit more pricy than the usual alcohol drank by Tukson and his crowd of friends, but they all knew Akira refused to go cheap when he drank.

If he was going to drink to forget, or even celebrate, he was going to do it right.

"So, what's your favorite color?" Yang questioned as she leaned over the bar, a small dusting of pink upon her cheeks from her drink, likely far stronger than it smelled, "Is it the same pretty red of that tie you're wearing?"

"Honestly, my favorite color is yellow," Akira smiled softly at the stray thought of Ryuji and Morgana arguing as they strolled through Mementos, "A close friend of mine, Ryuji, always wore this yellow scarf and after a while, I guess I really wanted one of my own. Too bad I look horrendous in the color, it clashes with my eyes."

"Wow, I just had a straight man complain about colors clashing, what the hell?" Yang guffawed as she slapped the bar lightly in amusement, "Seriously though, I couldn't see you in yellow."

"Believe me, you don't want to, either." Akira pretended to shudder at the thought before glancing around, catching the eye of the orange haired man wearing the white suit that Junior was previously speaking with. The man in the suit gestured for Akira to come over to his spot in the back of the club, just out of sight, while the smaller figure standing beside him waved towards him almost excitedly.

"I'll be right back," Akira murmured before rising from his spot at the bar and shooting Yang a small smile, "I see someone I think I recognize."

"Hmm?" Yang glanced around before shrugging her shoulders lightly, "I'll be right here waiting, don't take too long now or I might have to come looking for you and drag you back to the bar."

"Ohh, I like it when a woman uses force," Akira called out over his shoulder, "What's next, are you going to threaten me with handcuffs too?"

"Eh, I'm not a cop, but you can call me _Officer_ whenever you want, gorgeous." Yang didn't miss a beat as she turned her attention back to her drink before scowling, "Really, I could have come up with plenty of better lines, get your head in the game, girl!"

"Yeah, you could have," Came a voice, causing Yang to turn her attention to the figure that decided to take Akira's spot seconds after he left, "Funny finding you here, firecracker. Here I was, minding my own business and from the corner of my eye, I see a shock of blond come stepping into one of my old stomping grounds like she owned the place right after... whatever. Could have sworn I told you this place was a bit too shady to hang around."

"Well hello, Uncle Qrow," Yang greeted with a roll of her eyes before knocking back her drink in once, "Junior here happens to know things, and I have a feeling he knows something I want to know. If you get to hang out here as long as you say you have, then what does it matter if I come by for a one time visit?"

"I thought I asked you to stop looking into her, Yang," Qrow ignored Junior as he approached the two with a heavy scowl on his face, "Seriously, I know you want to know her reasons for leaving us all behind, but do you really want someone in your life _now_ if they so willingly threw you away without so much as a 'by your leave'?"

Yang scoffed heavily while glancing at Junior and gesturing towards her drink, only for him to shake his head in the negative before speaking up. "Oh, no, you aren't getting another drink if you're here with HIM."

Junior swung his head towards Qrow before spitting to his right in anger, "You have a lot of nerve, showing your face around here after last time, Branwen."

"Yeah, I'm not here for you this time though, so _get out of my face_ ," Qrow spat back while snarling at the man for daring to try and project his anger towards him onto his niece, even by denying her a drink, "Bring her a strawberry sunrise and me a pint of honey whiskey, or we are going to have just as many problems now as we did last time I was here."

Qrow wasn't in the mood to deal with Yang's rebellious attitude towards finding her mother, in all honesty. The corvian themed man already had enough on his mind with the attack on Amber and the war with Salem having escalating once more. Having Ozpin basically throw what could be his son or nephew's profile into his lap while accusing him of hiding it from him intentionally did little to cool off his growing ire.

Junior deciding to just up and target Yang because she was related to him was all it took to put him in the mood for a bar brawl, his dull eyes hardening noticeably as his shoulders tensed in preperation.

Junior grimaced at the tone Qrow took with him but decided then and there that he had enough of their mouths, bracing himself and squaring his shoulders in determination, "Yeah... let me get right on that, just as soon as you get the _hell_ _out of my club._ "

Junior lifted a hand in the air and gestured with his fingers twice, causing quite a few of the mulling gang members to stop their meandering to make their way towards the two that had caused problems for their boss.

Yang looked at Qrow, Qrow looked at Yang, then both looked out towards the sea of thugs that surrounded them wielding axes, poles and crimson blades, both of their faces schooled into neutral masks.

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Yang drawled lazily as Ember Celica shifted into her shotgun-gauntlets instead of acting as bracers.

"I wish I wasn't, but yeah, we're on the same page this time." Qrow answered back, not bothering to reach for his weapon considering just how weak most of Junior's gang members really were, "This is shaping up to look like a good old time all around! Shitty drinks, equally shitty music and _bitches everywhere._ "

The men could tell that Qrow was referring to them and took exception to his words, all rushing forward with their weapons held high. Within moments, it became clear that bum rushing them perhaps wasn't the best idea, especially when Qrow lifted one man by his legs and started to use him as a bludgeon against his comrades, not to mention a meat shield for the gunfire heading his way.

In the span of just a few seconds, the uncle of Yang and Ruby took down three men and was working on his forth before deciding he had gotten his moneys worth from his current weapon.

Throwing the man as hard as he could like a frisbee, Qrow held his hand to his eyes as if he were blocking out the sun and watched the man soar through the air like a squawking rag-doll and plow into the pillar that Akira had been standing by, head first.

"Hey, you mind throwing that back?" Yang called out to Akira as the frizzy haired teenager casually brushed glass from his shoulders before turning his attention towards the bar to see what all the commotion was about, "I want to beat my uncles score and take out the disco ball!"

Akira looked down at the man, shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to pick him up by the scruff of his neck. Spinning on his heel three times to build up momentum, Akira reinforced his muscles with aura as lightly as he could to prevent himself from killing the man before lobbing him as hard as he could towards the bar.

Yang leaped forward and caught him in midair before shooting him through the disco ball above the court with a loud cheer. The goon went slack and his limp body hung from the shattered disco ball as it continued to spin slowly.

By the time the fight had come into full swing, the random civilians and other 'friendlies' had vacated the area completely, leaving the gang to face off against their two opponents without the worry for hitting an innocent by-standard. Quite a few of Junior's goons had slipped away as well, leaving their braver and likely better paid superiors to deal with Yang, Qrow and eventually Akira as well.

 **[PL]**

"Glad you could join us," The man wearing the white suit with crimson accents opened his arms as if he were greeting an old friend as Akira strolled up with his hands placed lazily within his coat pockets, "Neo here says you're a buddy of hers, but for the life of me, I can't seem to recall ever seeing your face. It isn't often I get to meet new people in our line of work, especially those dressed as finely as I am!"

"Neo?" Akira tilted his head while glancing towards the small female standing next to Roman, only for recognition to flutter across his face upon seeing her eyes flash between pink, white and brown rapidly before settling on a bright green. "I see, so you can disguise yourself at whim..."

"Not many people know she can do that, so I'd really like it if you kept that little bit of information to yourself," The orange haired man trailed off before scoffing lightly and gesturing towards himself, "How rude of me, I'm already asking for your silence and you haven't even learned my name yet! I am Roman Torchwick, criminal mastermind and all around lady killer, at your service."

The name was incredibly familiar to Akira, enough for him to make a note of having Futaba run his information as soon as he could open the channel on their microphone.

"Akira Kurusu, a pleasure," Akira greeted lightly in response, knowing that it was only natural to introduce himself in return, "So, what does a criminal mastermind want with little old me?"

"Well, besides the fact that you were able to pick _Neo_ ' _s_ pocket without her knowing until you tipped her off?" Roman questioned almost sarcastically, causing Neo to elbow him in the side before smiling brightly towards Akira, "I just wanted to get to know the newest gang leader around town is all. Your business has been causing ripples in the underworld, my friend, and I think it's only fair that someone warns you before things get dicey for you in the future."

"Is that so? I've heard nothing of these... ripples," Akira crossed his arms and allowed his right hand to slide into his coat slightly in case he needed to draw his weapon, "Please, elaborate."

"It's not very often that we have young blood come into Vale and start recruiting ex-terrorists and military, let alone as body guards for his prostitutes," Roman drawled while placing a fresh cigar within his mouth after snipping the ends with a cutter and lighting the rolled tobacco, "Word has it that your boys have been having problems with Junior's lately, especially when our mutual friend thinks he can start sticking his hand in your pocket and get away with it."

"I have been having problems with Junior attempting to extort my _maids_ for protection money, yes," Akira nodded in affirmation while slowly lowering his arms from his chest upon realizing that Roman wasn't looking for a fight, "What does this have to do with anything, though?"

"Look, I'll just go ahead and say it bluntly," Roman sighed while waving his hand through the air in a circular motion, "People on _my_ side of Vale have been talking about you and yours, and it's not all good. They don't want competition, let alone by a Faunus gang that can't play well with their 'betters'."

"People like Junior, then?" Akira flicked his eyes to the front, a small ring of gold slowly appearing around his pupils before it was gone just as quickly, "I am not starting a gang, I do not run a prostitution ring and I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes. I run _legitimate_ businesses here, and I intend on keeping it that way."

"You call it legitimate, and it may very well be, but does it matter if people believe otherwise? You can preach it all you want, my friend, but everything about you and your second business screams the starting of a gang to everyone who has ever been in one." Roman tapped the ashes from his cigar while leaning back lazily in his seat, just in time to prevent the rain of glass that descended upon them from hitting him in the least, "Well, it looks like your blond friend over there decided to kick things off without you. Don't keep the lady waiting long, it's rude to ditch your date."

Akira did his best to ignore the obvious pout on Neo's face as Roman spoke his last words before rising and making his way towards the door. Before dashing after what Akira could only assume was her boss, she quickly slinked into his personal space across the table and wrapped her lithe arms around his neck.

Doing his best to ignore the fact that Neo had shoved his face directly into her cleavage, Akira rose and acknowledged her departure with a nod. "I'll see you around, Neo. I don't think we are quite done with this conversation."

Neo nodded lightly before releasing him and blowing him a kiss before her image shattered like the glass pillar Junior's thug had been flung through, revealing nothing but air in her wake.

"That is a very strange ability, and a bit concerning. Did you get all of that, Oracle?" Akira mumbled as he tapped his headset snug within his right human ear before picking the red, white and black clad man from his position on the floor and spinning him through the air like a discus towards Yang.

" _Got it all, Joker. I swear, I'm not there for five months and you start a gang without me? I'm actually offended right now, you know."_

"We both know that isn't what happened, but... Roman has a point. If everyone thinks I am now acting in the capacity of a gang leader, I might actually be in a tight spot." Akira continued to speak lowly as the sound of music was cut by one of the Axe Gang members being flung through the large speaker beneath the DJ's booth.

Withdrawing his pistol and flipping the safety to off, Akira fired his weapon once, knocking the weapon descending towards Qrow's back from the hand of the man wielding it.

He was still a dozen feet from the man, but Akira heard his thanks loud and clear before the drunken man went back to beating various gang members with their comrades wielded as a weapon.

" _What do you mean? All we have to do is play ignorant, right?"_ Futaba questioned after a second of thinking about what Joker was referring to, " _What, are you thinking that this may come back on your employees now?"_

"Precisely," Akira acknowledged as he shifted his weapon from its pistol form into a dagger and launching himself into the fray, "Well, since I've already gotten myself involved, I may as well enjoy it a bit, right?"

" _I know you hung out with Queen and Noir a lot, but can we not channel our inner psychopaths today?"_

Akira ignored the comment as he deflected the axe of one of the overeager gang members and replied with his own attack in kind by striking down upon the mans left shoulder with the blade of his dagger. The man grunted in pain as his shoulder was dislocated from the strength Akira put into the blow before he was kicked away and into the crowd of goons currently being rounded up by Yang, bowling most over at once.

"Damn, a spare," Akira acknowledged as Yang knocked down the remaining two goons before turning her attention towards the DJ, "Speaking of music, Oracle, do you mind playing me a track from my phone?"

" _Sure, what do you want to hear, Joker?"_ Futaba questioned over their headset, the sound of keys being pressed rapidly filling the silence after her response.

"How about...'Feeling Good'?" Akira eventually decided on a rather smooth cover of an old, jazzy song he had come to love, "I want to have a bit of fun while I'm here."

" _Coming right up,"_ Futaba quickly scrolled through the long list of songs Akira had on his phone, all transferred to his personal Scrolls with the help of the elite hacker, " _You think they'd secure their devices a bit better. DJ booth is mine, yeah boi!"_

Seconds after claiming the DJ booth was hers, the lights surrounding the music equipment flashed from crimson to neon green, affirming Futaba's statement instantly. The moment the color of the lights changed, the techno music playing in the background faded, only to be replaced by a song those on Remnant had never heard before.

Just as the bass notes began to play, Akira spun on his heel and intercepted a claw strike from one of the twins hanging around Junior while sliding to the left to avoid a kick towards his stomach.

"I see you ladies won't take no for an answer, will you?" Akira teased as he dodged yet another strike aimed at his stomach before ducking low to avoid a bladed foot aimed for his face, "Well, I suppose I can spare one dance before I get back to my date, surely she will understand."

"You keep talking, big boy," The twin in the blue-white dress, Melanie, spoke with barely concealed irritation as Akira span on his heel and completely out of the way of her attack once more, "I'll kick that smug look straight from your face!"

"Please, be my guest," Akira used his pistol to block the attack of the crimson dress wearing sister, Miltia, before firing a round into her gut, knocking her back a few feet with a look of pain on her face, "I feel I must warn you before we continue that I actually like it when women use violence against me."

Melanie tried to ignore him as he waggled his brows rather suggestively, only to fail and blush at the implication before she tried to attack him once more. "You disgusting pervert, take this seriously already!"

"If either of you were a serious threat, I would be." Akira dropped onto his back from a standing position to dodge an attack aimed at his face before flipping backwards and onto his feet once more, barely dodging a stomping attack from Melanie that could have pierced his jugular. Aiming his pistol once more, Akira fired another round and caused the sister specializing in footwork to spin out of control as her bladed foot was flung off course from his body.

Before she could recover, Akira dashed into her personal space and unleashed a vicious pistol-whip to the head, causing her to nearly crumple into a heap from how painful the blow was. Within a second, a second blow impacted the same exact area as before, causing the blue dress wearing sister to stumble backwards and directly into a hay-maker, delivered promptly by Yang Delivery Services.

"Ugh!" Melanie grunted in pain as she was launched away from the fight and directly into the center of the dance floor, "That was dirty!"

"Yeah, it suits you!" Yang called out as she took a running leap to reach the dance floor herself, Akira and Qrow joining her moments later as Miltia and Junior jumped down to back up the blue dress wearing female.

"I have to say, I wasn't expecting you to keep up with us, hot stuff," Yang called out as she blasted off from her current spot, her right fist cocked back and ready to deliver her hot and spicy payload all over Junior's waiting face, "You really are just full of surprises, aren't you?"

"I aim to please," Akira tilted his head left and right to crack his neck before bringing his pistol upwards to aim down the iron sights once more, "Keep coming around, you'll learn that surprises are my specialty."

"Will you two quit flirting for five goddamn seconds so we can get this over with?" Qrow called out in irritation as he leaned backwards limbo-style to dodge a swing of Junior's rocket launcher-war club before a loud crack echoed out, "Ouch, look's like you threw out your hip, old man!"

"Fuuu-" Junior was cut off from speaking as Akira slipped into his personal space and delivered a brutal uppercut to his jaw, just as Yang had demonstrated a few moments prior. Junior was launched a few feet backwards and was knocked further into the air by the blond boxer Akira found fighting on his side, juggling him and preventing his body from hitting the ground.

"Ah, now this is my kind of fun," Akira sighed as he turned his attention towards the twins he was currently standing across from, only for them to shake their heads in the negative upon making eye contact with him. "That is the first intelligent decision you ladies have made tonight, good job."

Akira couldn't help but laugh as both sisters flipped him the bird and began to limp away from the scene of their fight, ignoring the fact that Junior was still getting tossed around like a chew toy in the mouth of a vicious chihuahua.

With a shake of his head, Qrow allowed Yang and Akira to both speak with Junior in private as he made his way towards the door. Pausing for a moment, he glanced over his shoulder at the blond and black haired teenagers currently leaning over the nearly unconscious gang leader before scoffing again.

"Fucking Branwens..."


	12. Resonance

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ __ _ **1**_ _ **2,**_ _ **Resonance**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _Sorry it has taken so long for another update, I've been recovering from a gnarly head cold that I swear almost put me down._

 _Thank you all for the wonderful reviews as always. Please, continue to let me know how you are enjoying everything as we go!_

 _This will be my last time mentioning the Phantom Thieves. Let's just pretend they're dead and that I didn't say they survived, just so I don't have to talk about them anymore, yeah? Cool, let's do that._

 **[PL]**

Yang was the first to reach the downed form of Junior, reaching out and clenching his collar tight as she hoisted him into the air as Akira moved to stand by her side. Junior struggled, of course, but the only way out of Yang's firm grip would to be through shedding his shirt and tie all together, an impossibility at the moment.

The sound of swing music filled the club, a stark contrast from his usual track list to say the least. The thumping bass was replaced by something smoother and jazzier, an upright bass that made for a completely different type of atmosphere. The hard brass and sharp stabs of muted trumpets soon joined the bass, followed by a steady staccato of piano notes that tied the vocals together rather nicely.

From the flashing, green neon lights that had replaced the crimson, black and white lights of his DJ booths set up told him that someone was remotely accessing the sound systems and providing the track, most likely at the behest of either the blond currently hoisting him off his feet by his shirt, or her finely dressed friend.

It was likely her finely dressed friend, the more Junior thought on it. It was obvious that the music playing was more suited for a suited individual and not someone like the buxom blond that decided to beat most of his gang members and himself nearly senseless.

"Well, Junior, this whole thing was a pretty dumb move on your part," Yang drawled as she fished her Scroll from her pocket while fiddling with a few different icons before the image of a woman glad in red armor appeared on her screen, "Since you've offered your services to me for the free, though, how about we get started with my first question? Do you know who this woman is?"

Due to the fact that she was currently shoving her Scroll into the face of Junior over and over like she was attempting to insert a card into an ATM and failing each time, Yang completely missed the look of shock on Akira's face upon seeing the woman on her Scroll.

'M-mother..?!' Akira nearly spoke aloud, only to stop himself as he continued to stare at the image, nearly forgetting the situation he found himself in all together, 'That doesn't make any sense, of course she isn't... but she looks just like... what the hell?'

The woman on Yang's Scroll screen was identical to his own mother, a woman named Haruhime Kurusu. From the way their eyes curled at the edges from frowning too much down to the light scar on her jawline, not to mention the wild black hair that spilled to their hips, the two were spitting images of one another.

The only difference was that Akira knew his mothers eyes were charcoal gray like his own had been, while this woman had ruby shaded eyes that burned with an inner fire that his own mother lacked. Haruhime Kurusu had become a bitter woman through the years of staying with his father, Seiryu Kurusu, preferring to remain out on the town and returning home far past when her husband and son had fallen asleep. She always busied herself with her families company, Buzoku Industries, leaving Seiryu and Akira to cook and clean up after themselves most of the time.

Due to the strained relationship between his mother and father, Akira had spent most of his time alone and far away from the house he used to call his personal prison.

Akira wasn't bitter about her behavior throughout his life, _not in the least_.

Seeing Yang somehow have a picture of _his_ mother wearing what appeared to be the shortest skirt he had ever seen her in, clad in armor and wielding a sword as tall as herself was not what Akira was expecting in the least. If it wasn't for the fact that it was _impossible_ for Yang to have a picture of his mother, Akira would have called her a liar and demanded to know where she had acquired a picture of Haruhime Kurusu in weird cosplay.

Holding his tongue and taking a deep breath, Akira prevented himself from panicking as Yang continued to press Junior for answers.

"I've never seen her," Junior attempted, only for Yang to slap him in the face with her Scroll once more to clarify she wasn't buying what he was trying to sell her, "Shit, blondie, do you not know who she is?! The hell do two little teenaged punks want with a god damned bandit leader, anyway?! Her brother is literally standing RIGHT THERE, go ask him!"

"Well, she's _my MOM_ , for starters, and uncle Qrow over there doesn't even know," Yang started to shake him violently, rocking her right arm back and forth in frustration upon hearing that he _did_ know something about the woman in the picture, "You're gonna start talking, or my friend here is gonna start getting angry. You _really_ don't want to see him when he's angry."

Akira saw her bluff and raised her two. Junior turned his slightly shaky gaze towards Akira and froze, his dark orbs locking onto a burning crimson overflowing with murderous intent. The black haired teenager leaned his head back slightly as he reached up and slowly removed his glasses, a ring of gold appearing around his slitted pupils as he did so.

Junior turned his gaze towards the picture on Yang's Scroll and then back to Akira slowly, a motion that Yang followed before her breath caught in her chest. It took a few moments for the similarities between the two to register for her, but the second it clicked into place, Yang felt her world tilt slightly on its axis. 'He... he looks just like her!'

It wasn't just a passing resemblance, either, but one that boded some form of relation. The high cheek bones, dainty nose, even their _eyes_ were shaped almost identically. Yang had inherited many features from her mother, being considered by her father and uncle both to be her blond clone.

It seems she wasn't the only person to inherit those same features. The more she looked between the picture of Raven and back to Akira, the more similarities presented themselves.

Shaking her head, she instead focused on Junior, knowing that the situation hardly called for any profound thoughts on rogue family members. "You know where she is, then? Speak up, or I'm going to make you regret it!"

"So two lost little lambs are looking for mommy, is it?" Junior coughed out while doing his best to ignore the burning glares both were giving him, despite how shaken both were for different reasons, "Figures the bitch would abandon two of her children, low life bandits like her aren't good for shit, even in the underworld. Last I heard, the Branwen's were camping it out over in the wilds of Anima, that's all I know!"

Yang pursed her lips in thought before nodding her head after a moment, knowing that was likely the best answer she would be getting out of Junior. While it was hardly specific, it narrowed down the possible location for Raven onto a singular continent, thus cutting down most of Remnant as potential hideaways for the woman at the moment.

She wanted to know specifics so she could mark Raven's location on the map but she was content for now. She knew more than she did before entering the Club, and that was good enough for her.

From the words of Junior, however, Yang had something else on her mind that could become a potential problem in the future, such as potentially having another sibling that she had no idea existed in the first place.

"I do not think that woman is my mother," Akira amended the thoughts of Junior and Yang alike, though he was unaware of the latter's sudden inner turmoil, "My reasoning for being here tonight is something else all together."

"And what reason is that, ass wipe?" Junior tried to snarl, only for Yang to punch him in the gut hard enough to nearly make him wretch, "Ugh, fuck!"

"You better watch your mouth towards him, or you'll be eating your next meal through a straw!" Yang warned him quickly, her hair flashing golden as her lilac eyes bled into a shade of crimson the same as Akira's, "You understand me?"

"Y-yes!" Junior glanced around his club as if expecting someone to come to his rescue, but it was obvious by the amused expression that Qrow wore as he leaned near the door that he was on his own. Swallowing what was left of his pride, Hei Xiong prepared himself for what could lead to another beating that put him in the hospital.

He cursed his luck under his breath, having already been hospitalized once by the very woman that the blond and her brother were asking about, quite a few years prior to meeting her daughter and son. It had been foolish on his part, but he thought he could get away with flirting with the obviously armed and deadly woman, clouded by a few drinks and the highs of youth.

The experience left him traumatized, to say the least, and made him eventually leave Mistral to settle in Vale. It was just a year later that he experienced another beat down by a Branwen, this time at the hands of a severely drunken Qrow that didn't seem to know when to quit drinking for the night.

It was almost as if he were cursed to be the Branwen families exclusive punching bag, because lo and behold, he found himself being hoisted into the air in a similar fashion to the way her mother had done it. Of course, Junior noticed the distinct lack of markings on their clothing that affirmed their affiliation to the Branwen Tribe but he wasn't about to mess with the children of a known psychopath.

Anyone who found themselves at the edge of Raven Branwen's blade usually found themselves without either head or home. It was only natural for Junior to assume that either of the two before him fell a bit closer to the tree than Raven's twin, Qrow. Their presence with the male of the Branwen Twins, however, told Junior that their loyalty perhaps lied in themselves much like their uncle.

"Yes what?!" Yang snapped, her hair flashing gold and wavering as if being gently tossed about by a light wind. Akira had never seen someones hair start glowing before, but he wasn't about to comment on it. If Yang felt like going 'Super Saiyan', that was _her_ business.

"Yes sir!" Junior attempted, knowing that calling her ma'am would be just as much a mistake as it was with her mother. His eyes closed as the fist Yang had reared back came to rest by her side once more, "Why are you here then... sir?"

Akira fixed his jacket and slipped his glasses within one of his inner pockets before fixing Junior with another glare, once more causing Junior to have difficulty breathing as the golden and crimson inferno within his gaze pierced Junior's thoughts and rendered him docile. "My reasons are simple. Your men, either under your orders or of their own free will, have decided to start harassing quite a few of my maids while they were on their way home. If you do not call off your _dogs_ , I will _euthanize_ them personally. Are we clear?"

It was a bluff, something that Yang noticed right away, but Junior seemed to buy it hook, line and sinker. The blond _knew_ that Akira was really a big softy, but it was pretty obvious from his presence tonight that he had a mean streak a mile wild, not to mention a protective side that Yang appreciated in a man.

"Crystal!" Junior finally answered after trying and failing to gather his courage, "I'll order them to stop, just... get out already. Please."

In all honesty, Junior just wanted the night to be over with. The damage to his club, while not _catastrophic_ , was enough to shut him down for renovations that quite frankly, he almost couldn't afford at the moment. Instead of paying attention to the fact that he was currently being held a few feet off the ground by a pissed off, glowing buxom blond bombshell that was baying for his blood, Junior instead began to focus on the many unconscious forms that littered his barely legal establishment and sighed heavily.

He saw Melanie and Miltia standing near the stairs, waiting patiently for the two Branwen brats to leave him be to doctor him up and then nurse their own wounds, like they had time and time again. They were quick to jump to his defense, but there was no fighting off a fully trained Huntsman, a semi-trained Huntress and a gang leader all at once.

Junior understood their standing down when the going got too rough for them and was relieved to see them still standing.

"So long as I don't have to hear another word of your men stepping on my friends or my own toes again, I am willing to leave you be," Akira eventually agreed to leave peacefully after having said his piece, especially after having seen just how roughed up he had already been by Yang and Qrow alike, "If I ever have to return to this little hole in the wall again, however... I think you already know how that will go, don't you, Junior?"

When the man rapidly nodded his head to affirm that he indeed knew what Akira was inferring, Yang allowed him to drop to his knees while grabbing at his throat and coughing harshly. His airway hadn't been constricted tight enough to damage it or cause him to black out, but it was enough to cause him to cough almost uncontrollably upon feeling his shirt being released by Yang.

Taking a step back to allow the man to gather his thoughts, Akira instead focused on Yang as she took a deep breath and seemed to calm down minutely. Her hair was still glowing and her eyes were still the same shade of burning crimson as his own, but it was enough for her to breath a bit easier.

Just when Junior thought it was over and that Yang and Akira were going to leave, however, he had his thoughts forcefully corrected as he was laid out by another powerful blow to the chin delivered by Yang.

Stepping over a pile of shattered glass to stand over the downed and now unconscious form of Junior, Yang had one last thing to say to the man. "If you ever talk about my mom like that again, I'll surgically remove your bottom jaw with my shotgun."

Ignoring the fact that Yang had the _meanest_ right hook that Akira had ever seen in his life, the frizzy haired teenager allowed his own temper to simmer and fade, forcing the gold in his eyes to withdraw as did the coursing mana dancing below the surface of his skin. The azure flames that danced around his feet died down as well, no longer illuminating his form as the golden flames around Yang continued to do for his current 'battle buddy'.

Akira turned and made his way towards the door calmly, acting as if he hadn't just walked away from one of the largest bar fights he'd ever seen relatively unscathed, despite how many weapons had been drawn on Yang, her uncle and eventually himself upon backing the two up in their brawl.

He could have walked away and turned down Yang's attempt to involve him as well, but Akira would have been foolish not to accept a bit of backup in the form of a certified Huntsmen and someone he knew would be attending Beacon within the two weeks.

Yang and Qrow did most of the work and he knew it, but his message was delivered none the less. It certainly did _not_ help that Junior had somehow come to the conclusion that he was Yang's brother and somehow related to a freaking _Bandit_ , let alone on that looked like his mother in edgy samurai cosplay.

"And where do you think _you're_ going?" Yang called out, causing Akira to pause by the door before turning to glance at her from the corner of his eyes, "I've got a few questions for you too, Akira. Junior here said something I'd like you to either confirm or deny, if you would?"

The frizzy haired teenager turned to face the door once more before speaking up. "I'm just a bit tired, thought I would head home and get some rest. We can talk back at Leblanc, if you can wait to ask your questions until then."

Yang pursed her lips and crossed her arms before eventually nodding and following Akira to their bikes parked out front of Junior's club, where Qrow and surprisingly Ruby were waiting patiently for the two.

"Ruby?" Yang was surprised to see her baby sister hanging around the outside of the club, "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same, Yang!" Ruby deflected before pointing at Akira, "And with Akira, no less! You two were hanging out without me, how could you?!"

"They weren't alone, runt," Qrow finally made his presence known once more, slipping from the entrance of Junior's after Yang and Akira made their way to their bikes, "Sorry, we were just doing adult stuff, you'd have been bored out of your skull."

"And what is _adult stuff_ supposed to be, hmm? Dragging Yang and Akira along with you while you waste your money on booze?" Ruby questioned almost hotly, placing both hands on her hips and giving her uncle the biggest pout he'd ever been forced to witness, "I... I thought we were _close_ , uncle Qrow! How could you leave me behind for _them_?!"

"You were just offended that _we_ didn't bring you along," Yang called out almost boredly while patting the seat of her bike, still leaning against the sleek machine, "Hop on, Rubes, I guess we're going to Leblanc Deux for a little while."

"Really? It's almost midnight, Tai is going to have a stroke if you girls aren't home soon." Qrow rose a brow before shaking his head in the negative, "Not tonight, girls, you can harass him tomorrow or something. Get his number, text him, call him, whatever, but you need to get back to Patch before the last Bullhead takes off in... fifteen minutes."

"Ah, boo!" Ruby continued to pout before snapping her head to Akira, "You heard the man, hand over your Scroll and no one gets hurt!"

"Is... is this a robbery, ma'am? I'll have you know I'm innocent and have mouths to feed, please don't hurt me." Akira responded in a deadpan fashion while fishing his Scroll from his pocket before tossing it to Ruby, "Just put your number in there and leave me be, I swear I won't call the cops or give them your description anonymously."

"Yes! Mwehehehe, it was the perfect crime!" Ruby giggled while furiously typing something into Akira's Scroll before handing it to her blond sister, "Alright Yang, your turn."

Yang gave Ruby a thumbs up before stalking towards Akira, who tilted his head in confusion as the buxom blond entered his personal space once more. Grabbing him around the waist, Yang pulled him close to her until they were cheek to cheek, facing his Scroll as she snapped a quick selfie of the two together.

Keeping one arm wrapped around Akira's waist, Yang continued to fiddle with his Scroll, inputting her own number while sending herself the selfie of the two. Deciding she had finished with his Scroll, she locked it shut and slid it into his pants pocket before deciding it was time to leave. She slid the arm around his waist a bit lower than necessary, pinching his behind before sauntering towards her bike once more.

Qrow curled his lip in slight disgust instead of being offended by the gesture between the two, something that Akira noticed and decided not to comment on. The two girls were off quickly after Qrow waved them on, leaving Akira to stare at the stubble faced man with no small amount of trepidation.

The intense look that he was giving Akira set the frizzy haired teenager on edge, almost prompting him to reach for his weapon as a reflex.

"I'll go ahead and say it, kid," Qrow eventually spoke, breaking Akira away from his stray thoughts of leaving the man to stand alone, "I think you're my sisters kid. One of them, anyway. I looked up your file, it says your an orphan."

"I am an orphan, yes," Akira confirmed before shaking his head in the negative, "I do not believe your sister is my mother, sir, like I told Junior when he made the same assumption just a few minutes ago."

"Do you have any reason to think she might _not_ be your mother? You two are spitting images of one another and honestly, you are just as well versed in sarcasm and dry wit as she used to be." Qrow reached into his pocket and withdrew what appeared to be a physical picture of Raven Branwen before holding it up to look at Akira and the photo at the same time.

"I have no reason to assume she is for a few different reasons. The woman who was rumored to be my mother was named Haruhime, not Raven, though it hardly matters now." Akira attempted to dissuade Qrow from pursuing the same train of thought that Junior and apparently Yang had taken as well, "I have no need for a mother figure in my life, especially not one so willing to abandon her child. As you can see, I am doing perfectly fine for myself as I am now."

"That's not the point I'm getting at, Akira," Qrow tried using his first name instead of calling him 'Kid' to try and establish some sense of familiarity between the two and ease him into the questioning Qrow had been preparing for all night, "I am attempting to say that you have _family,_ or you might if you accept us. One test is all it would take to either prove or disprove it and I'll even pay for it."

"Doesn't the difference in species prevent any conclusive testing in cases like ours?" Akira questioned, having read a few articles on the latest scientific discoveries and breakthroughs that the Atlesian and Valean scientists have been making in recent years.

"Most of the time, you'd be right, but I happen to know a few people in the right places to get a better test done. All it takes is a few strands of hair and I can have a certified copy of the test sent to you through the mail when they finish." Qrow seemed proud of himself for even getting as far as he had in his little pitch to Akira, especially when the teenager actually seemed like he was willing to go along with it just to get Qrow to forget all about the whole situation.

"Alright, how long does this process take?" Akira eventually agreed to shedding a few hairs to prove that he was _not_ related to the Branwen family in the least, "Hopefully not long, correct?"

"It'll be two days at the most, I think?" Qrow shrugged his shoulders before gesturing towards Akira's head while withdrawing what appeared to be a small plastic vial from one of his pockets, "Just three or four strands ought to be enough."

"Fine, fine," Akira sighed while running his hands through his hair a few times to kick a few strands loose, coming away with enough to fill Qrow's request, "This should be enough to get you out of my hair for the night, right?"

The deadpan look that Qrow gave Akira in that moment was enough to cause the frizzy haired teenager to smile lightly, despite how awkward the situation had become over a simple misunderstanding.

"Oh my god, please, don't ever say something like that to me again. You _have_ to be related to Yang, that was just terrible."

 **[PL]**

"You look like you need another drink, firecracker," Qrow commented idly as he leaned against the wall in Taiyang's living room, where his eldest niece was currently staring at her Scroll as if it held the answer to the meaning of life, "I take it you've already come to the same conclusion I have, yeah?"

"H-how, though? How could she leave me and... and him too? Is he really...?" Yang questioned, stumbling over her words quite a bit before finally getting her thoughts together, "Is he my brother?"

"He... might be," Qrow made his way to sit down next to Yang on the couch, sighing as he felt one of the four legs give out as he sat down as they usually did, "There are a few things he mentioned that... really point to Raven being his mother. I was actually convinced he might have been my son, for a minute there."

"You really dodged a bullet there, didn't ya?" Yang questioned almost sarcastically, not taking her eyes off of the selfie of Akira and herself or the photograph of Raven that was held up next to her Scroll, "This is just... freaky. How did I not see this earlier? I've known him for weeks now!"

"How many times have you actually been around him, though?" Qrow leaned back further and slung one of his arms over the back of the couch while reaching into his waistcoat to grab his flask, "Four times, maybe? Don't be so hard on yourself."

"You just don't get it, do you," Yang's voice came out lowly and somewhat harshly, "I... I've been flirting with my _brother_ for weeks now! I... I..."

Yang stopped herself before admitting anything else incriminating, knowing that her uncle hardly wanted to hear that she was pining after someone she could very well be related to.

Qrow tried to stop the blanch from forming, but it was too late to stop by the time Yang had noticed the look on his face. Punching the stubbly faced man in the shoulder, the blond began to pout as she closed her Scroll and slipped it into her jacket before running her thumb along the picture of Raven in her other hand.

"I don't really know how to feel about this," Yang eventually admitted, causing Qrow to laugh despite the situation, "What the hell is so funny about what I said?"

"Nothing, I was just telling myself the same thing the moment I saw his face is all. I'm still sort of torn on how I feel." Qrow admitted before taking a long swig of the amber liquid stored within his flask, "I mean, I'm kinda happy that I might have a pretty cool kid as a nephew, but..."

"Let me guess, he wasn't too keen on the idea of being related to us?" Yang blew a strand of hair from her face before sighing just as her uncle had, "I mean, we're awesome, he should be _grateful_ to be related to us, honestly."

"Yeah, no doubt," Qrow raised his flask into the air to say 'here, here', "We're fuckin' awesome, he'd be a madman to not want to be our fam."

"F... fam? Just how much have you had to drink tonight?" Yang questioned incredulously, turning to glance at her uncle as if he had grown a second head, "Too much, or not enough?"

"Not enough. I'm still conscious right?"

"True. Wanna go get a bottle from your stash and split it?"

"You just read my mind, Yang. Stop that."

 **[PL]**

Akira sat down on the edge of his bed heavily, having only returned home minutes prior. The ride back to the eastern portion of Vale hadn't taken very long, but it was plenty of time for Akira to gather his thoughts a bit better.

The line between himself and Futaba had been silent on his way home, though he could still hear the tapping of the keys of her large Scroll to show she was still awake and listening. He appreciated the silence, as it allowed him to try and quiet the raging thoughts circling his head.

Being confused for the son of a bandit leader had not been what he was expecting, but Akira had learned to roll with the punches long ago. It was almost a necessary trait to have, especially in the line of work he found himself in the last year of his life before appearing on Remnant.

The conversation between himself and Qrow was still at the forefront of his mind as he sat himself down while pulling Futaba into his lap. Running his hand through her long, orange hair as she leaned her head into his shoulder, Akira began to speak at last.

"You heard the many different conversations I've had tonight. What are your thoughts?" He questioned lightly as his gloved hands continued to play with the long tresses that reminded him of the setting sun on a clear day.

"Remnant is friggin' weird, Akira, and so is everyone here."

"Yeah, we fit in perfectly, don't we?"

The sardonic smile that Akira wore when he spoke last was lost upon Futaba, who felt herself slowly drifting into the land of unconsciousness due to the warm embrace of someone she knew she couldn't live without.


	13. Stay Woke

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **1**_ _ **3,**_ _ **S**_ _ **tay woke**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _I am STILL getting my ass whooped by this cold. It ain't the flu, but it's pretending it is pretty damn good._

 _The Test results won't be in this chapter, however, sorry! I had too many scenes planned out for me to fit it into this one, but it's coming next chapter I promise!_

 _Thank you, Soul90 and Milton for picking apart the names! Milton, you nailed it when you mentioned the translation of Buzoku, which is 'The Tribe'. Haruhime Kurusu's original name was Haruhime Buzoku, which is a direct reference to 'Branwen', or as close as I can get considering I have no idea what Branwen even means, if it has a meaning._

 _I always tie things together in multiple ways, leaving little tidbits and hints for the future in each and every chapter. So far, you two are the best treasure hunters I've got!_

 _Thank you, ThatGuyReturns, for being a loyal reader through and through. God I fucking love you, you glorious mofo you!_

 _That is a good question, JDS62, but I can't really answer that one right now without spoiling things!_

 _To everyone else, I love you all and I am so glad you have stuck around with me as long as you have!_

 **[PL]**

Akira was awake the following morning far sooner than he wished to be, having awoken from a nightmare that seemed to repeat itself rather frequently. Too frequently, if he were honest. Rising slowly and untangling his limbs from Futaba's, Akira placed his warm pillow within her grasp upon seeing a slight look of discomfort force her lips downwards. She curled around the down pillow quickly and rolled onto her side, leaving Akira to breathe easier.

Futaba had been just as heavy a sleeper as he was, though he had been forced to break the habit upon opening Leblanc Deux some few months prior. Sighing lightly, Akira stared at her sleeping form for a few minutes to try and calm himself once more. His heartbeat began to steady out once more upon realizing she was indeed real and not under threat of fading, leaving Akira wide awake more than five hours before it was time to open up for the day.

He could never get back to sleep after seeing his friends fade away before his very eyes, especially knowing that he was next and there was nothing he could do to help them. That moment in time would continue to haunt him until he passed away, and honestly, probably beyond.

'Four in the morning, as usual.' Akira groused as he checked the time before moving to his closet. Making sure that he had absolutely everything he needed, he proceeded to pad from the room and make his way to the bathroom.

He glanced to his right and saw that Blake was still awake, leaning over her open book once more, her pen scribbling away while she giggled in a way that even Akira had to admit was rather lurid in nature. There were slight bags under her eyes, just as he knew there were under his own.

"Morning," Akira greeted lowly, causing Blake to glance his way before nodding, "You're having issues sleeping as well?"

"A bit," Blake admitted while shutting her 'journal' gently and putting it away to prevent any prying eyes from perusing her thoughts, " Do you mind if we talk?"

Her voice was a bit smaller than usual, causing Akira a small amount of concern as he nodded and made for her bed. Sitting down at the foot of the large mattress, he patted the spot next to him in a silent gesture for her to come closer. Blake complied quietly, her feet completely silent as she moved across the hardwood floor to sit herself down beside one of the few people Blake could honestly say she trusted.

It didn't help that she was trying, and failing, to convince herself that what she felt for him only extended to friendship.

"What do you want to talk about?" Akira questioned lightly while rubbing his left eye with the back of his hand to help him wake a bit. Blake didn't answer at first, but eventually seemed to gather her courage enough to pose her next question.

"I've been thinking lately, and I feel like I still owe you a strong debt. I was wondering if… maybe I… could help teach you how to use your Aura as a way to pay it off a bit?" Blake seemed almost hopeful, her eyes lighting up slightly.

Placing his open palm against the mattress beneath him palm up, it was obvious what he wanted. Blake laced her fingers with his a moment later, hesitating for only a scintilla of a second.

"Blake, you don't _owe_ me anything. I would, however, be honored to learn under you." Akira gave her hand a light squeeze to reassure her, though she hardly needed it, "What do you have in mind?"

"I... well," She stumbled over her words due to the feeling of warmth suffusing from his hand into hers before she gathered her wits, "Let's start with trying to judge how much Aura you have. Go get a shower first, you look like you need a good wake up."

"You got it, boss," Akira quipped before withdrawing his hand from hers, rising from the edge of the bed and making his way to the bathroom after retrieving his clothing, "I shouldn't be long."

Blake heard the door shut and turned her amber gaze downwards to the hand that previously clasped his own. Clenching her fist and releasing it, the Faunus almost mewled in discontent upon feeling the incredible warmth he brought slowly fading from her body.

Rising from her spot, Blake began to toss her hair and straighten her bed, making sure that the sheathe of Gambol Shroud was in its correct position beneath her pillows. After confirming that her weapon was indeed in the correct position, the female Faunus allowed her attention to travel towards the book she was previously writing in.

It would be really, _really_ bad if Akira were to somehow get his hands on her book, doing her best to hide it at the bottom of her bag as she did whenever he was around. Blake was left with nothing to do but wait for her roommate and confidant to return once more, setting herself down in her previous position while quickly losing herself in her thoughts.

She didn't have to wait long for Akira to finish with his shower, exiting the bathroom garbed in a button down shirt and slacks, his frizzy hair tossed about and damp from his morning shower. Blake watched a droplet of water escape his hairline and trace along his jaw before slowly descending down his throat. It disappeared along the collar of his shirt, bringing her attention back to his face.

The red eyed teenager gave her an amused smile before raising his legs to sit cross-legged in his previous position. "Alright, so how do you want to do this?"

"Let me see your hand again," Blake gestured for him to return his hand to its previous position within hers before continuing, "Whenever you are ready, I want you to pull as much of your Aura to the surface as you can."

Akira laced his fingers with hers once more and closed his eyes before reaching into himself, listening as Blake continued to guide him through hushed whispers as he pulled the second energy source born from his soul to the surface.

Due to the fact that he had his eyes clenched tight, he missed the crimson light that began to shine around him once more, waving and undulating as if it were a flame without heat an inch from his skin.

'He has even more than _Adam_...' Blake felt her brows raise in surprise upon seeing just how brightly Akira had begun to shine as he pulled as much of his Aura to the surface as he could, "Alright, I think I have a good guess on where you stand as far as reserves go."

"How did I do?" Akira questioned after a moment, taking a deep breath to steady his heart as his secondary energy source settled into the rapid currents hiding beneath his skin once more.

"It was... much larger than I was expecting." Blake stated before her face blanked out, already knowing that if she were to turn to face Akira, he would have a lewd smile upon his face, "Don't, just... don't. You know what I meant."

"Oh, I know," Akira laughed lightly, doing his best to wipe the smirk from his face, "I suppose I should be glad, then."

"Yes, you should," Blake groused as she turned to face him, "I've been working on my reserves since I was twelve and even I don't have that much. This is hardly fair."

The frizzy haired teenager at least had the decency to look sheepish as he brought the hand not being held by Blake upwards to scratch the back of his neck. "Sorry, I suppose?"

"It's nothing to be sorry over, it actually makes things easier," Blake admitted as she laid backwards on her bed, her thumb tracing circles on the back of Akira's hand still held within her grasp absentmindedly, "The next step after learning to call upon it at will is focusing it to one spot anywhere on your body in a seconds notice."

"One second, hm?" Akira questioned lightly, already having an idea on how he could start to train himself on utilizing his Aura better, "I think I can do that. It might take a few weeks of practice, but I'm sure I'll get it."

"I have faith that you will," Blake admitted, her tone slightly heavier than before from the sleep entering her voice, "I... think I'm going to try and pass out. I'll be awake by opening."

Rolling over slightly, Akira allowed his arm to wrap around her shoulder lightly as he rested his head in the crook of her neck. "Thank you for the help, Blake. Sleep well and sweet dreams."

Blake didn't speak, her mouth going dry at the worst moment once more as he rose and made his way for the stairs. Whining under her breath, she brought her arm up to rest over her eyes as she felt his warmth fade once more.

'My dreams will be _sweet_ , alright, so long as you keep invading them.'

 **[PL]**

Ozpin pinched the bridge of his nose as he leaned back in his chair, finally given a moments reprieve from the chaos that was his job as Headmaster and the many different responsibilities he held elsewhere.

Outside of helping Amber recuperate from having a portion of her power as the Fall Maiden forcefully stolen from her, now he found himself drawn into a conspiracy that was years in the making.

Feeling his Scroll begin to vibrate, Ozpin reached into his pocket and retrieved the device before answering the call by sliding the two bars apart, seeing Qrow's name flash across his screen.

"It is far too early for you to be up right now, Qrow." Ozpin didn't bother with a standard greeting, knowing that his corvian partner would hardly be impressed with a hello or a good morning.

"Very funny, Oz. How's she doing?" Came the reply from the other line, Qrow's gruff voice cutting through the sound of paperwork fluttering on the morning wind upon his desk, "Stabilizing, right?"

"Amber is proving to be very resilient, so far. Had any more of her power been drained before you were able to cut the link between her and her assailant..." Ozpin trailed off, spinning in his chair to face the morning sun as the star shining over Remnant began to peak over the horizon once more, "She should be awake within the next forty eight hours, though her recovery will take far longer."

"Good. Good..." Qrow trailed off, his line becoming slightly muted for a moment as he greeted what sounded like his eldest niece before returning to the conversation, "How long did you say that test would take? I can't remember what you said a few hours ago."

"If you weren't nearly blackout drunk when you flew into my office window with a baggy of hair in your beak, you would remember what I said." Ozpin chastised lightly before sighing heavily, "It should be done in twelve hours, at the most. I am rushing it considering he supplied an ample enough amount of hair for multiple tests being run to force the process along."

"Yeah, I think you might be on to something," Qrow didn't sound apologetic or even sheepish in the slightest, "I told him two days, so that gives us time to..."

"Decide if he is friend or foe?" Ozpin didn't seem bothered by the fact that he could potentially order the imprisonment of Akira should he prove to be unwilling to cooperate, "We both know what needs to be done if he is the latter."

"I'm leaning towards the former, Oz," Qrow stated without missing a beat, already knowing what Ozpin was implicating, "He jumped to my defense far too quickly for him to be corrupted by my sister. He also isn't working with Amber's attackers, considering his reaction to seeing me yesterday."

"What do you mean?" Ozpin questioned after a moment, turning his gaze away from the orange and pink horizon and towards the large Scroll propped up on his desk, "You only gave me a brief report last night, so I am still mostly in the dark on how you even got him to agree to give you hair samples so quickly."

"I think it would have taken a lot more time had he not been drinking with Yang last night," Qrow grumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'damned perverts wouldn't quit flirting', "We may or may not have started a brawl in Hei Xiong's place, by the way, dunno if you got that last night or not."

"Are... are you being serious right now, Qrow?" Ozpin couldn't tell, so he felt the need to reaffirm his former student and comrade's words, "Just how much alcohol is still in your system?"

"Not enough, I'm still breathing," Qrow commented idly, "Seriously, we trashed the place. Akira was there before Yang showed up, and you know I keep an eye out on her when she goes out looking for info on her mom..."

"I see." Ozpin laced his fingers before his face, leaning against his desk heavily as he tried to digest the words of Qrow, "What did Akira have to do with you and your nieces little... battle royale?"

"Yang called him into it, he jumped in willingly," Qrow sounded like he shrugged, but Ozpin couldn't be sure considering this was only an audio call, "I think he had a bone to pick with Junior from the way he was talking. He went as far as calling upon his... 'Maiden' powers or whatever, though only just barely. I was actually able to catch a bit of his conversation with Junior and Yang, claimed his mothers name was 'Haruhime', if that means anything to you. The expression on his face when he saw Raven's picture, however, tells a different story."

"This is troubling news, Qrow..." Ozpin trailed off, not feeling the need to elaborate on just why he felt as such. He felt his mouth grow a bit more dry at the implications behind not only his reaction to Raven's picture, but the chosen name he designated to his supposed 'mother'.

Haruhime. _Haru. Hime. Spring. Princess._ The flames that appeared around his eyes when he called upon his magic were azure blue, the same as the _Spring Maiden_. Ozpin had already come to a startling conclusion about Raven potentially taking the abilities of the Spring Maiden for herself, but it was nothing more than a ludicrous, passing theory based on circumstances and speculation.

Now, however, Ozpin was having not second, but _third_ thoughts on the subject. It was supposed to be Leonardo's job to track down and protect the Spring Maiden from the clutches of Salem and her ilk, but something told Ozpin that it was time for him to check up on things a bit more... personally.

It was too much of a coincidence to ignore, especially with two people backing his theory about Akira's origins in the form of Qrow and apparently Yang Xiao Long. The long silence on the whereabouts of the Spring Maiden, not to mention the unknown location of either the Winter Maiden or Summer Maiden made for disaster in the near future. If _Raven freaking Branwen_ ended up with the powers of the Spring Maiden, there was no telling what she would do with someone like Akira by her side to supplement her already incredible combat prowess.

Allying himself with Akira before Raven or potentially even _Salem_ could suddenly took a higher priority on Ozpin's steadily growing list of things he needed to accomplish within his current lifetime.

The aged Headmaster was drawn from his thoughts by the voice of Qrow Branwen once more, the gruff, drunken tone of the aging man growing a bit softer than before.

"I still don't think he's as bad as Raven, Oz. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt, at least until he gives us a reason not to," Qrow reasoned once more, doing his best to try and paint Akira in a better light than his words may have implied, "He restrained himself heavily from what I can tell considering he didn't actively seek to _harm_ anyone rather than teach them not to attack him. Even I've done worse, and you still keep me around."

"We both know you are my most loyal helper, it would be foolish for me to let you go over something so trivial." Ozpin replied easily enough, only to pause as he repeated his words in his head, "I suppose I shall give Akira a bit more... leniency in my scrutiny, if you are sure that he isn't going to become an active threat."

"I'll make damn sure of it, Oz. Well, Yang is up and demanding her keys back, so I guess I need to warn a certain frizzy haired cat that he'll have a firecracker heading his way when I lose this game of keep away. Talk to you later." Qrow seemed distracted by the sounds of something impacting his body and the growling of his blond niece, causing Ozpin to laugh lightly at the scene playing out in his ear.

"Goodbye, Qrow, have fun fighting off your tiger of a niece." With that, Ozpin slid his Scroll shut and turned to face the screen of the larger Scroll on his desk.

"Junior's, hmm?" Ozpin drawled lightly as he pulled the hard-light keyboard closer to him before typing in a few commands. Moments later, he came across something he wasn't expecting.

"Who could have deleted the security footage? How peculiar..."

 **[PL]**

"Say, Jeff, you said you would look over a few blueprints if I agreed to give you the recipe for my coffee cakes, right?" Akira grinned as he leaned over the counter, "I might have one you could look at for me..."

Akira had opened up for the day an hour prior, allowing Blake and himself to get straight to work in supplying the Kingdom of Vale with its daily fix of high quality caffeinated beverages. Blake was in a rather chipper mood and had already cracked two sarcastic quips at Akira's expense, something he realized was done only when she was relaxed.

The sounds of customers enjoying themselves filled the cafe, allowing Akira to enjoy the feeling of pride that welled up upon realizing just how much his coffee and curry meant to those around him now.

Jeff, here, was one such person, having been a loyal customer of Akira's since the first week that Leblanc Deux was open. Despite the fact that the man reminded Akira of a walrus, he was a jovial person who loved his coffee and cakes, not to mention the sweet curry that the frizzy haired cafe owner learned to make two months prior.

The man was rather well off and very well connected in the construction industry, holding two meetings in Leblanc previously with businessmen from Vacuo and Atlas looking to purchase their services in renovation and construction. From the way the two business meetings went, Akira was able to come to the conclusion that if he wanted anything done right, he would go to his walrus friend.

"Holy... Are you serious right now?" The large bodied man questioned almost excitedly, his large, handlebar mustache raising along with his brows in excitement, "I gave you my word, I just wasn't expecting you to take me up on the offer!"

"Well, I've recently decided on placing bids on two more buildings, and I got news this morning that I won them both," Akira admitted while placing a large plate of the cakes down next to Jeff and his partner William, "These are on the house. Let me go grab those blueprints, I'll be right back."

"You're the best, Akira!" Jeff grabbed one of the cakes and stuffed it into his mouth without a second thought, having become addicted to the cakes after having been a loyal customer of Leblanc Deux for months. "You hear that, Will? We might have two more jobs after this renovation is done!"

"I'm sitting right here, Jeff," The skinny man answered almost sheepishly as he reached for a cake for himself, "Here he is, that was quick."

"Sorry about that," Akira returned to his spot behind the counter before setting down two rolled up blueprints and what appeared to be another small, rolled up piece of paper with a ribbon around it, "I'm only roughly guessing, but this should end up being eighty to one hundred thousand Lien in all by the time it's finished."

Both Jeff and Will stared at the first blueprint for what appeared to be an apartment building while counting the Lien signs in their mind, a smile on either of their faces.

"I think you are talking to the right people, Akira." Jeff admitted after a moment, thumbing through the two documents attached to the back of the blueprints, "This is pretty reasonable, all things considered. Only the top floor should give us any issues, and even then... I think we can get started next week and have it done before the Vytal Festival even starts."

"I'm glad to hear that, because I need this done soon," Akira tapped the small scroll of paper sitting beside the second, unopened blueprint, "I've not only given you the recipe for the coffee cakes, but the recipe for my caramelized honey curry. Tell the missus I expect her to show me what she can do with it."

"Oh, you shouldn't have!" Jeff once more exclaimed, "No, seriously, you have no idea how big of a deal this is! Maybe she'll finally let me out of the dog house..."

Akira didn't comment, instead listening as the two men began to formulate plans on how many men they would need for the job and where they were going to order their resources from.

 **[PL]**

 _'Uugh, you are not going to believe the day I've been having.' ~ Received from Yang at 6:38 PM_

 _'Is everything okay?' ~ Sent at 6:40 PM_

 _'Juuuust dandy. Uncle Qrow played keep away with my keys all day, just made it into town. You should feel lucky, I had plans of bothering you all day.' Received from Yang at 6:51 PM_

 _'I have a feeling I should be sending Qrow a thank you text, but I don't have his number.' Sent at 6:52 PM_

 _'Ha-ha, you're so funny. NOT. Hey, you live at Leblanc, right?' Received from Yang at 6:55 PM_

 _'Yes, why?' Sent at 6:56 PM_

 _'It's cold outside, you mind opening up for little ole me? We never got to finish our conversation last night.' Received from Yang at 6:57 PM_

Akira glanced up from his Scroll and made his way down stairs, patting Futaba on the head lightly as he passed her. The sound of lo-fi music filled his room, preventing him from hearing anything beyond his hardly decorated walls. Opening the door and stepping out quickly to keep the noise leaving his room to a minimum, Akira once more found himself in the small portion of Leblanc that his other roommate had claimed as her own.

Blake was sprawled out on her bed reading what appeared to be yet another volume of smutty lore, the bags beneath her eyes having lessened from the extra bit of sleep she had gotten. Akira nodded in her direction, leaving her to nod back in greeting as he made his way down the stairs once more.

True to her text, Yang was standing in front of Leblanc Deux with her arms crossed over her ample bosom, her right foot tapping impatiently as she waited for the frizzy haired teenager to open up.

Akira had half a mind to leave her standing there, but the way Yang shivered lightly when the breeze picked up changed his mind instantly. The seasons were changing from Summer to Autumn once more, leaving the trees to shed their leaves and the warmth in the air to fade away. The surprise cold snap that chilled the Southern Kingdom was well fore casted, but it seemed the blond boxer didn't get the memo.

There were dark circles under Yang's lilac colored eyes just like those forming beneath Akira's own, showing that there was yet another person that seemed to be struggling with sleep lately. Despite having only known the blond for a month and having spent less than a days worth of time in her presence, Akira felt the same strong pang of concern that he usually felt when looking over the wounded members of the Phantom Thieves.

Doing his best to squash the protective, mother-hen tendencies that had strongly taken root within him, the frizzy haired Faunus instead schooled his face into a mostly neutral, yet pleasant facade before unlocking the door and holding it open.

Akira allowed the blond boxer to make her way into the cafe, keeping his eyes firmly above her waist, despite just how great of a view her backside was. "Today has frickin' sucked, Akira."

"What's wrong?" Akira questioned moments later, shutting and locking the door before making his way around the counter to grab a bottle of his cold-brew coffee, "Want one?"

"What are they?" Yang tilted her head to the bottle, only for Akira to open it up and slide it her way, "Oh, it's not beer? Awesome, I think I actually would have been sick if it were, now that I think about it."

"I don't think alcohol would make you feel any better right now," Akira smiled as he made his way to the fridge after grabbing a second bottle, "I have some leftovers still cooling down if you'd like some."

"I'm good, I just want this headache to go away, honestly," Yang folded her arms and placed her forehead against them, "I was gonna ask if you wanted to go to the gym, but I honestly just feel like trash today."

"Do you need any medicine?" Tilting his head to the right, the black haired Faunus watched the female who believed him to be her brother, "I've got a little bit of everything."

"No, thank you though," Yang rolled her shoulders and sighed heavily, "I just get stiff after a good fight. Once my back and neck loosens up I should be alright."

"Alright," Akira agreed, shutting the fridge door after grabbing a small tray of vanilla cakes from the second shelf, "So if you don't want to go to the gym, what would you like to do? I'm free the rest of the night."

It was pretty obvious that she wanted to hang out for a while, especially from how quickly she settled into her spot at the counter. Yang slouched a bit further and groaned lowly under her breath upon feeling her back stretch a bit more than before.

"I want to get to know you better, so anything is fine if you don't mind answering my questions again." Yang shrugged lightly, causing her back and shoulders both to pop audibly enough for Akira to pick up. "I wasn't expecting to hurt this bad today, what the hell..."

"Hmm..." Akira hummed under his breath as he made his way around the counter, ignoring the fact that Yang's eyes were following his every move almost like a hawk from the crook of her arms, "Sounds like you need a good massage, honestly. I couldn't sleep after a big fight without one."

The former Joker watched her almost instantly perk up upon hearing his words, the gears turning in her head being obvious to him as she mulled over the thought of asking for help.

If she wouldn't eat food to help with her hangover and she couldn't sleep to help alleviate her headache, there was little that could be done. Without medicine, the only way Akira thought he could help was the same way that Sadayo used to help him after a long night in the Metaverse.

"What, are you offering?" Yang teased with a grin, raising her head from the counter to face him better before her grin devolved into a slight grimace, "That's what it's sounding like to me, hot st-, er... Akira."

The way she awkwardly shifted her gaze away from his caused the Human turned 'Faunus' to snort in amusement despite the fact that it was a bit weird for her to try and speak to him without flirting.

"Well, I suppose I _could_ give you a hand," Akira shrugged his shoulders, not at all bothered by her teasing, "Though I warn you, you might end up falling asleep afterwards."

"Pfft, I doubt that," Yang threw her hair over her shoulder, giving Akira a better view of her back as she leaned a bit further over his counter, "Please, just help, I can't take this anymore."

"If you are sure," Akira placed his right hand upon her back before calling upon the healing abilities of Kaguya, channeling just enough Mana to cast a medium tier healing spell before he began to knead her back through her shirt, "You weren't kidding, I can feel two different places your muscles have bunched up, maybe even three."

Yang couldn't help the low moan that escaped her lips as Akira placed his left hand upon her back as well, beginning to use his thumbs to press upwards and out near her shoulder blades. He continued to massage her back along her spine firmly, yet gently enough to not cause any discomfort of having her shirt pressed so harshly into her skin and drag along its surface.

"Oh my god, Akira," Yang breathed out as his hands traveled further up her back and towards her neck, "Right there, that's the stuff! Where the hell did you learn how to do _this_?"

"A woman named Sadayo Kawakami," Akira sighed as even speaking her name caused memories to come rushing to the surface, "I had a strange history with her, to say the least."

"Something tells me you don't want to elaborate?" Yang questioned after a moment, doing her best to remain conscious as Akira continued to work his magic upon her back, "That's cool, I'm sure you'll tell me about it eventually."

"Oh, and what makes you so sure?" Akira was not at all bothered by her questioning, but the sureness in her tone was enough to make him pause, "It is rather personal, after all."

"Nothing is too personal for Yang Xiao Long, buster," Yang turned her head to lay it sideways upon her arms resting upon the counter, her lilac gaze turned towards him as best she could, "You know, I was serious last night. If you _are_ my brother, you can best believe that you are going to be putting up with me a hell of a lot."

"And if I'm not?" Akira raised a brow, his tone colored with amusement, "I highly doubt we are related, Yang, please don't get your hopes up."

"That would be just as fine with me, actually," Yang admitted before wiggling her hips slightly to position herself better, ignoring the fact she may have leaned a bit too closely to Akira in the process, "That means that all of our flirting wasn't for nothing and that I can still make you mine. Either way, you're gonna have to put up with me a hell of a lot, really."

Akira was rendered speechless by how bluntly Yang had worded her last statement, though she hardly seemed to notice his silence due to her continuing moments later.

"Seriously, I feel kinda like a creep right now," Yang suppressed a shudder, one of both pleasure and self disgust for enjoying the feeling of Akira's hands upon her back as much as she did, "But damn if you weren't kidding about having some skill! You can cook, clean and send me to paradise with a touch... damn! Here's to hoping you _aren't_ my brother!"

"Well we _did_ do pretty good tag teaming those twins last night, didn't we?"

"Hell yeah we did!"

Akira paused for a moment as he thought he heard someone whisper ' _holy shit_ ' under their breath, causing him to turn his crimson gaze towards the stairs before shrugging his shoulders and returning to making sure Yang recovered from the seemingly long night she had previously.

 **[PL]**

Blake placed a hand against her mouth after pressing her body against the wall just outside of Akira's view. She had been minding her own business, reading her smut when she thought she heard moaning. Pausing her reading for a moment and shutting her book, she listened for a moment to discover that someone _was_ moaning and it _wasn't_ her.

Slinking to the stairs to discover the source of the noise, Blake felt her heartbeat skyrocket upon remembering that Akira had made his way downstairs some twenty minutes prior.

The sound of moaning grew louder the closer Blake got towards the base of the stairs, standing just outside of view of the first three steps that turned right before continuing into a second flight.

"Oh my god, Akira! Right there, that's the stuff! Where the hell did you learn how to do this?!"

Blake felt something trickle from her nose and brought her hand to her face, knowing exactly what was happening to her.

'I... but I thought he was single...' Blake felt her ears press closer to her head as she continued to eavesdrop, completely misinterpreting the situation, 'Who is he even...'

Steeling her nerves and glancing around the corner, Blake was gifted with the scene of the blond boxer that Akira had flirted with a few weeks prior leaning over the counter while Akira stood behind her, either of his hands planted firmly on her shoulders. She couldn't _see_ anything, however, due to the large coffee machine that rested on the edge of the counter, blocking most of her view.

'Wow, he really _is_...'

Blake was forced to reconsider, however, when Akira and Yang started having a _casual conversation_ about another woman all together, leaving the black haired Faunus flabbergasted about how casually they spoke while they were doing what they were doing.

When the blond began to speak about Akira potentially being her _brother_ , though, Blake couldn't stop her mind from blanking out.

'What. The. Fuck?'

Considering that Akira shared his bed with someone he called his little sister, it was obvious that he was very affectionate with those he considered family. This, however, took the cake.

Blake felt her mind shift into overdrive as she fantasized a scene involving a forbidden romance between siblings. Once more, she felt the trickle of blood escaping her nostrils, but she hardly cared. Slinking away from the stairs, Blake grabbed the notebook on the edge of the desk and slowly made her way back down, just in time to hear Akira's proud words.

"Well we _did_ do pretty good tag teaming those twins last night, didn't we?"

"Hell yeah we did!"

Blake couldn't stop herself from harshly whispering her next words.

"Holy shit..."

 _'These two were bragging about their conquests as if it were nothing! Akira, what the hell?!'_

"Thanks for rubbing my back for me, Akira, I honestly feel like a million Lien right now!"

Oh. _Oh._

Now Blake just felt silly. Shaking her head in the negative, she made her way back up the stairs to leave Akira and Yang to hang out alone once more, having been both relieved and disappointed at once. She was happy that her roommate wasn't bending a woman over his counter to plow her fields, but at the same time...

'I can still use the scene for my book, either way. I should be happy for the inspiration, I suppose.'


	14. A Cold Day In Hell

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ __ _ **1**_ _ **4,**_ _ **A Cold Day In Hell**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _I am one lazy mofo, so I'm sorry for not just looking up Branwen on Google. I have no idea why the thought didn't even cross my mind, honestly._

 _I really laughed my ass off when I read the last line of your review, Soul90! Double Lotus sounds very, very promising, just saying!_

 _You have certainly gotten close with a few of those guesses, Brown One, keep it up! You are so close on a few of those!_

 _You are absolutely correct in saying that there are no such things as coincidences in my stories, Warlord of Chaos! Sorry for being so lurid with that scene!_

 _That poor old lady, ThatGuyReturns! I'm glad I can sew the seeds of chaos and discord even from hundreds of miles away with mere words!_

 _Well, Milton, the subject of Akira's V status as well as his previous lover will be covered later in the story whenever someone works up the courage to ask! In all honesty, I have a good idea on who I wanted to have this particular version of Akira paired with in the past, and I've even given hints throughout the story as to who they were._

 _Now, on with the story so we can get further into the meat of things and stuff or whatever!_

 **[PL]**

It was near midnight, and most of Beacon Academy was as silent as the night itself. A majority of the student body that did not return home for summer vacation were turning in for the night, though some continued to loiter in the courtyard and other spots around the school, such as the gardens.

The many teachers employed by the school had also turned in, leaving most of the school inactive and at peace. This inactivity did not extend to the Headmaster of the prestigious academy, however, nor his most loyal follower. Qrow and Ozpin alike continued to pace back and forth before a large machine hidden deep within the bowels of the Vault below Beacon, their minds racing as the genetic test being run on Akira's hair samples were nearly completed.

Quite a few hours had passed since the last conversation between the two over their Scrolls, leaving the men to congregate at the end of the day and wait as the much anticipated results from the DNA test finally began to appear on the large screen before them.

"It's finally time," Ozpin noted, glancing upwards at the hard-light screen projected above the machine used to analyze Akira's genetic structure, "Well, well, well... what do we have here?"

One by one, what appeared to be strands of DNA appeared on the screen until there were three, though the final strand being displayed on the far right is what caused Ozpin's bemused reaction.

The left strand of DNA displayed before them was that of Yang Xiao Long, who supplied a few strands of her hair as well to help prove or disprove 'Qrow's' theory of Akira's ancestry. A few different portions of the double helix were highlighted, showing that there had indeed been a match between the samples provided.

The middle strand was Qrow's, where once more there were different bars stretching between the double helix to show a genetic match. The glow that surrounded a majority of the genetic sequence of Qrow's DNA showed the familial relationship between himself and the first subject, Yang.

The final strand was Akira's, and like the previous two strands that appeared upon the screen, quite a few different segments of his coding were highlighted.

It was a close enough match between the three to show a close familial relation, proving Ozpin correct in his assumption. Stepping forward and tapping away at a few keys, Ozpin temporarily removed Qrow's strand of DNA from the screen and allowed Yang and Akira's to move closer to one another. Another two commands were typed in before another quick test was run.

The two sets of DNA disappeared from the screen, instead allowing what appeared to be the same bars within the double helix removed from their strands and isolated those that were shared between Yang and Akira.

Seconds later, a percentile was displayed at the bottom of the screen, as well the words Ozpin was expecting to see.

'38 _.8% match between_ _Subject_ _X and_ _Subject_ _Y – 1.28 Gigabases shared –_ _Half Sibling_ _Relationship Inferred_ _'_

"Well damn, Oz," Qrow breathed out heavily, his eyes closing as he reached downwards to grasp his flask, "I... well, I'm just glad I don't have to worry about paying seventeen years of child support."

"Hm, you _would_ be happy about that, wouldn't you?" Ozpin questioned in amusement while typing another command into the massive machine, "Let's try something else, just to see..."

Yang's DNA was removed from the left portion of the screen, only to be replaced with one that was simply labeled 'Oz'. With one final command entered, another quick test began to run in the background before displaying another message across the bottom.

 _'2.5% match between Subject Y and King-O-5 – 0.009 Gigabases shared – No Familial Relationship Assumed'_

" _Hmm,"_ Ozpin hummed lowly, his voice seemingly distorting for a moment before returning to normal as he typed another command, "I am going to isolate his sequencing and break it down into three categories, Branwen, Kurusu and Other. That should prove his relationship enough to convince him, correct?"

"I sure hope so," Qrow shrugged his shoulders, his eyes still drawn towards the holographic screen as Akira's sequencing was separated into three different categories before his eyes, "We can assume that the 'Other' sections of his DNA correspond with the 'Magic' gene, yeah?"

"This does provide evidence towards my theory about Humanity and Faunus-kind having the same ability to either awaken or be bestowed with Magic," Ozpin smiled lightly as his turned his attention back to the screen, "Akira is the first case I've ever come across of a Faunus wielding Magic, though, so I will need further evidence before I can be sure."

"Do you think his kids will inherit the ability to wield mana?"

"Let us cross that bridge when we get there, yes?" Ozpin didn't seem like he wanted to speculate any further, though Qrow looked like he was ready to argue his point.

"You don't get it, Oz, that kid is going to make all of your little Beacon girls melt in his hands!" Qrow threw his hands into the air in either frustration or confusion, "We might just have a real problem in the future if he continues to flirt with everyone around him. Stop laughing, I'm serious!"

"Do you really have _any_ room to talk? I suppose he takes after _you_ more than his mother if you are to be believed." Ozpin shook his head and turned away while gesturing for Qrow to follow along, "I've started printing out the three different segments we could isolate from his genetic sequence, let's convene in my office, I could use a cup of coffee right about now."

"I'm hoping he believes this, because he seemed very doubtful about being my nephew," Qrow murmured as he followed along, ignoring the sting of being called out as he had been, "I really don't see why an orphan would be doubtful about the identity of his mother, especially if they've never met..."

 **[PL]**

Sunday had been a rather slow day for Akira, having slept rather well the previous night after having a lengthy conversation with Yang and Blake alike the night before. Futaba hadn't been in much of a talking mood, instead falling into what Akira dubbed her 'Hibernation State' much like after her Treasure had been stolen so many months ago. Unlike her rather lengthy sleep schedule prior to arriving on Remnant, however, Futaba had awoken in the middle of the afternoon wide awake and more chatty than ever.

"Thank you for coming, have a wonderful night and be safe." Akira waved as his last customer shuffled through his door and into the cold evening air, blending in with the passers by without an issue. He moved to shut the door behind her after it was left slightly ajar, only for someone to slip inside before he could make his way around the long counter.

"Heya, Akira," Came the now familiar voice of Yang Xiao Long as she and her sister Ruby made their way into the cafe while shutting the door behind them, "You don't check your phone while you work, do you?"

"Er, no," Akira reached up and scratched his cheek lightly while patting his pocket with his other hand, "I do sometimes when there isn't anyone around, but I try to keep busy otherwise. Idle hands and Devil's Playground's, you know?"

"What is up with you and all of these weird sayings?" Yang tilted a brow as she sat herself down at the counter, Ruby doing so as well, "You know what, that isn't really important, is it... _little bro?"_

Akira sighed and leaned against the counter lazily, one arm propped up as he popped his hips lazily, "You keep telling yourself that, sis, I just don't see us being related."

"Well, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but..." Yang revealed a folded envelope that had been tucked into her pocket, one that seemed to be addressed to Akira, "This says otherwise, bub."

Akira breathed out as he took the offered item and opened it almost hastily, revealing four neatly folded pieces of paper with the top sheet being a small note addressed to him by Headmaster Ozpin of all people.

 _'Hello, Akira_

 _I hope this note finds you in one piece. Knowing Qrow's luck, I wouldn't be surprised if your results are completely illegible by the time you receive them. The hair samples you and Qrow's niece, Yang, have provided to be tested indeed seem to point towards a familial relation between the two of you, specifically through your mother. Contained within is the complete mapping of your genome, as well as a spreadsheet of the isolated portions that correlate with those found within the DNA of your half-sister._

 _I believe it would be best for me to leave it to Qrow and Yang alike to address your new found relationship. Good luck, young man, you'll need it._

 _Sincerely, Ozpin'_

The further Akira read, the further his brows fell until his eyes were half-lidded in what could only be amusement. Flipping to the next page, the amused expression on his face faded as he was graced with a very accurate breakdown of his DNA in a way he could almost understand. Statistics such as his blood type and concentrations of lingering radiation in his system were displayed on the upper left hand of the page, followed by what appeared to be a black and white bar graph below it.

The black and white bars represented the sequence of both himself and Yang in comparison, the black boxes representing the matched strands of DNA and the white representing those that did not. From the looks of things, he and Yang alike shared approximately forty percent of their DNA with one another, an impossibility in the mind of Akira.

His hands began to shake as he flipped the page once more, this time revealing the portions of his DNA that did not match with Yang placed in isolation and ran against every other registered person within the database used by Vale, Mistral and Atlas alike for their hospitals.

Of course, there was no match on his fathers side, something that didn't really surprise him in the least, but at this point he felt it should have.

Setting the papers down gently, Akira didn't bother looking at the final page, instead closing his eyes while reaching up to remove his glasses. Folding the fake lenses gently and placing them within his coat, Akira pinched the bridge of his nose and lowered his jaw slightly, allowing his hair to cascade over his closed eyes.

Taking a deep breath, the black haired Faunus did his best to wrap his mind around the fact that his DNA somehow matched close enough with Yang's to infer they had the same mother. It didn't make any sense to him, but in that moment, it did.

Remnant was, as far as Akira was concerned, just an alternate version of Earth, one that shared very close similarities in some instances while in others being completely different. Somehow, his mother had an evil twin, or maybe an evil _counter-part_ would be more proper, one that was similar enough to register as _his_ mother.

 _'Breath, Akira,'_ The former Joker reminded himself lightly as he did just that, releasing his breath and taking in another before opening his eyes and lowering his hands, ' _This is... nothing. This is nothing, we've overcome crazier things.'_

With this final thought, Akira sighed and turned his attention to the two quiet females sitting at his counter. Both of them seem almost hurt, if their expressions meant anything.

"Is.. is it because we're Human?" Yang questioned after a minute, breaking the tense silence between them, "Is that why you look so devastated to learn you have family?"

Akira nearly flinched at the question, only to smother his reaction and school his expression into one that was more pleasant. Despite the smile on his face, however, his eyes still spoke of his intense internal conflict as he continued to try and wrap his mind around the revealed information.

"It has nothing to do with the difference in our species, Yang," Akira admitted while gesturing his head towards the picture hanging on his wall by the counter, "The one with orange hair, Futaba, is my little sister. She's just as Human as... you."

Akira wanted to say 'the rest of us', but had to correct himself.

"So why do you look _offended_?" Yang questioned hotly, only for Ruby to finally speak up and cut her blond sister off.

"Yang, please," Ruby called out, her voice soft and almost withdrawn in tone, "Just give him a second to think, we've had all day to talk about this."

Realizing that she was likely just jumping to conclusions, Yang crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair before nodding her head. "Alright, your right... sorry Akira, Ruby, I'm just... bitter, I guess."

"It's fine, _I'm_ sorry," Akira tilted his head as he turned and made his way towards the fridge, grabbing a tray of cooled cakes for the two before setting down a gallon of milk next to the large tray, "I just don't know how to feel about this, honestly. I've... never had a sibling, or..."

His story of being an orphan who never met his parents was easy to remember, allowing him to just let his silence speak for him in turn. He honestly _didn't_ know how to feel about finding out he had an inter-dimensional sibling.

If _Yang_ registered as his half-sister, then how many other dimensions existed where he had potential siblings? Were there an infinite number of dimensions, thus leaving him with just as many possible answers?

Thinking about it made his head hurt, despite how often he found his thoughts drifting to subjects such as those on his mind at the moment.

"It's fine, you're taking this better than my dad is, that's for sure..." Yang scoffed and looked to the side before sighing heavily, "So where do we go from here, Akira?"

"I'm... not sure," The frizzy haired teenager answered honestly, placing either palm on the counter as he leaned forward a bit while studying the surface of the bar as if it held the answers to all of lifes questions, "I suppose we make up for lost time?"

"Lost time, huh..." Yang huffed before tilting her head to beckon Akira from behind the counter, "Come here real quick."

"Okay?" Akira questioned more than stated before complying, slowly making his way around the counter before he stood before the two seated females, "What's up, Yang?"

Reaching out quickly, the blond boxer secured Akira in one of the tightest hugs he had been given in his entire life, her face pressing into his chest almost uncomfortably. After seconds of being embraced by the blond, Akira realized that she was shaking slightly as she wrapped her arms around his shoulder and tried to pull him closer, only to find it impossible.

The sounds of what sounded like muffled sobbing reached his feline ears before it did his normal ears, causing his eyes to widen as Yang began to speak lowly.

"I'm so sorry... if I knew you... you shouldn't have been alone, Akira, I'm sorry!" Yang began to sob openly after speaking, revealing just what was weighing so heavily on her mind, "Seventeen years... I can't imagine having no one for so long... without Ruby, Summer, Uncle Qrow... Dad..."

"It's..." Akira didn't continue with his words, instead returning the tight embrace of the boxer as he allowed her to continue to cry into his chest. Resting his jaw on the crown of her head gently, Akira started to rub circles with his right palm between her shoulder blades, causing her to shiver lightly as she sobbed even harder.

Ruby soon joined the hug, coming to stand at Yang's side before she wrapped her small arms around Akira and her sister alike in a surprisingly strong embrace, her own tears falling silently as the young teenager did her best to comfort her eldest sibling.

Something about the situation tugged at something within Akira and soon, he found his own tears falling unabated as the three continued to embrace one another tightly.

Yang was the first to finally calm herself, pulling away from Akira slightly while refusing to release her grip around his torso. "I'm sorry..."

The words were heavy and loaded with more meaning than anything she had spoken to him yet. She wasn't just apologizing for her tears, or her tight embrace, but for every moment of his life that she missed.

Akira didn't have the heart to explain to her that she didn't miss a thing, that his existence on Remnant was a mere fluke. Instead, he settled with gentle words and a soft touch.

"It's okay." Akira whispered as he traced his gloved thumb beneath her right eye, drying her tears while allowing him to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, "You're okay, Yang."

His words held just as much meaning as hers, despite how little either spoke. He couldn't possibly hold her absence in his life against her, though she could never understand why.

"Wait..." Ruby spoke up, still not removing her arms from around either Yang nor Akira, "I don't want to ruin the moment or anything, but I have a quick question..."

"What's up, Rubes?" Yang questioned after sniffling, removing one arm from around Akira to bring Ruby a bit closer as well.

"Well... it's just..." Ruby began lowly before sighing, "Akira and I aren't related, are we?"

From the way her voice shrank as she spoke, it was obvious that she had her own reservations with the whole situation as well.

"Nope, why?" Yang answered eloquently, her response leaving almost no room for questioning, "Wait, I remember now! You've always..."

The blond trailed off and coughed awkwardly, leaving Akira to turn his attention to Ruby with a questioning gaze.

"Do you... may I..." Ruby continued with her conflicted questioning before Yang finally decided to spare her the awkward fumbling.

"Ruby has always wanted a big brother and wants to claim you." Yang grinned at the amused expression that crossed Akira's face, "That's cool with you, then?"

"Of course," Akira turned his attention to the small black and red haired female burying her head into his side, "You may refer to me as your brother whenever you please, Ruby."

"This. Is. AWESOME!" Ruby shouted loudly, causing Yang to laugh before a loud thumping noise erupted from the ceiling above them.

Akira sighed before removing himself from the strange embrace between the three, straightening his coat before lifting a single finger. "Give me just a moment, there is someone I'd like you two to meet."

Without waiting for a response, Akira turned on his heel and marched towards the stairs, leaving Yang and Ruby to gather themselves once more as they began to munch on coffee cakes and whisper between themselves.

 **[PL]**

"So, you're the blond claiming to be Akira's sister..." Futaba adjusted her glasses as she marched down the stairs after Akira, only to come to a rest behind him with only half of her small frame being visible, "I can totally see the resemblance, that's kinda creepy."

"Futaba, this is Yang Xiao Long, my... half-sister and _her_ half-sister Ruby Rose. Yang, Ruby, this is one of my closest friends and little sister, Futaba Sakura." Akira gestured from the orange haired teenager clad in loose sweat pants and a neon green tank-top over a black spandex shirt to the two females sitting at his counter, a small smile on his face from successfully talking his 'pet nerd' into coming downstairs to meet his... new sisters.

It was strange to label Yang and Ruby as his siblings, despite how comfortable he had become in labeling Futaba as such. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he and Yang actually shared genetic information that caused him to quickly readjust his view of the blond from the friend-zone and into a particular place he reserved for his closest friends and loved ones.

Ruby had automatically gained the label of little sister upon confirming the new-found relationship between Yang and himself, especially considering just how hopeful she had been in being called such.

After enjoying the company of Futaba for some many months now, Akira had come to the conclusion that little sisters were awesome, and that you could never have too many of them.

"Hey they, Futaba," Yang greeted with a nod of her head before extending her hand for the young girl to take, quickly filing away her appearance and voice in her 'important people' compartment in her mind, as she liked to pretend she had, "It's nice to meet a fellow sister of Akira's!"

She was being slightly sarcastic considering she was technically the _only_ sister of Akira, but Yang could tell that Akira and the orange haired female partially using him as a shield were close. The picture on his wall had been taken before Akira moved to Vale, and Yang knew he had been around for about seven months at this point.

Any relationship he had with Futaba had been long established over the course of at least a year, leaving Yang little doubts on the closeness between the two.

From just spending a few days around Akira, Yang had already developed a nearly fierce desire to spend more time with him. She couldn't imagine just how Futaba had felt after spending nearly a year in his presence.

"It's nice to meet you too, Yang," Futaba accepted the offered hand after glancing at Akira as if to ask permission, only for her to quickly retract her hand afterwards, "Sorry... I'm... really doing my best to not bolt to the room right now."

"You're doing great, Futaba," Akira grinned lightly before settling an arm around the orange haired teenagers shoulder before pulling her into his side, "We might just have to make a new checklist just so we can check 'meeting new family' off."

"Wait, we can make a new list?!" Futaba seemed almost excited by the prospect before jumping up and down twice in excitement, "That means I can go for _double platinum! Score!"_

Akira threw his head back and laughed almost heartily at this, his deep voice sending vibrations thumping through the chest of Futaba, Yang and Ruby alike from the sound. The tone of his voice was rich, almost as if it held musical properties without direction, showing just how happy he was to hear Futaba show such excitement.

"It's nice to meet you, Futaba," Ruby chirped happily, taking the opportunity to step forward and introduce herself while glancing at the Scroll hanging idly in Futaba's hand, "Are you playing Ultra Bash Sisters?!"

"Heck yes I am," Futaba snickered while holding it up, "Do you play?"

" _Do I play?_ " Ruby questioned almost sarcastically while whipping her own Scroll out, "Let's Bash!"

Akira blinked owlishly as Futaba and Ruby quickly exchanged Scroll information before the two were off in their own little worlds, all due to the observant nature of Ruby and the nerdy nature of Futaba.

"You should have kept her hidden," Yang joked as she grabbed Akira's hand and dragged him to sit with her at the counter instead of standing in the doorway with a dumb expression on his face, "Now you'll never separate the two. Ruby is a total 'Basher', one of the best players at Signal."

"Futaba is pretty good at most games she gets her hands on," Akira shrugged lightly as he listened to the two begin to trash talk each others characters, "I'm glad she agreed to meet you, I was afraid she wouldn't leave the room at all, let alone come downstairs."

"Why did she look so... scared?" Yang pursed her lips as she tried to place the body language and expression of Futaba as she descended the stairs leading up to Blake's loft and Akira's room, "Does she live here too?"

"Futaba... has no where else to go," Akira tried to word it as best he could without going into details on just why she had no where to turn besides Leblanc, at least at the moment, "Her adopted father, Sojiro, took me in over a year ago after I got into a lot of trouble in the previous town I was staying in. After... well, we both ended up on the road and separated, only for her to find me after I ended up here in Vale."

There were large gaps in the story that Akira weaved for Yang, but from the expression on her face, they were gaps she could easily fill with whatever information she pleased. It was more than likely that Yang would simply assume that a Grimm attack wiped out the town that Akira and Futaba were staying in previously and that they had been separated, only to be reunited again later.

That was basically what happened, though without the Grimm, so it didn't really matter to Akira that he was basically lying to his newly found older sister.

"I'm sorry," Yang murmured softly, her lilac eyes gaining a new depth to them that Akira recognized as determination, "I'm going to be the best big sister the two of you have ever seen."

Her words, though gently delivered, were more fierce than Akira was prepared for. "You don't need to-"

"I want to." Yang cut him off by raising a hand calmly and speaking up, causing Akira to purse his lips before eventually nodding, "Good, no arguing with your big sister, buster."

"Okay, now you're just abusing your privileges." Akira deadpanned while fishing his Scroll from his pocket and opening up his contacts to dial Tukson's number, "Give me just one second, I nearly forgot about something."

The Scroll rang only twice before Tukson answered, a bright smile on his face as the video call was established.

"Well dang, hello Akira and friend," The Faunus book salesman waggled his brow at Yang as he spoke, almost ignoring Akira completely, "What's up big guy?"

"I just found out I have... living family members," Akira began, causing the man with black mutton-chops to gasp loudly, "I was hoping you could swing by and pick up the left overs for those by the warehouse tonight."

Yang sent him a questioning look about the leftovers, only for him to mouth 'tell you later' before turning his attention back to Tukson.

"Yeah, no problem at all," Akira's fellow shopkeeper agreed almost instantly with a large smile on his face, "That's fantastic news, man! I'm happy for you!"

"Thank you," Akira meant it, as well, for both agreeing to take his place in delivering the left overs from Leblanc to the homeless and hungry and for Tukson's happiness on his behalf, "I really appreciate it. Is Blake still over there, by the way?"

"She just left like, five minutes before you called," Tukson scratched his cheek before turning his attention quickly away from his Scroll, "There's my bird, too, let me get her stuff put away and we'll be by to grab the food. See you soon."

"Thanks, see you." Akira slid the Scroll shut and replaced it in his pocket before turning his attention back to Yang once more, "Sorry, I needed to take care of that before I forgot, all of this excitement makes me scatter brained."

"It's no problem," Yang grinned before repeating her question from earlier, "What was that about?"

"I don't keep any of the left overs from the day, usually," Akira shrugged lightly before reaching into another pocket of his coat to remove what appeared to be a deck of cards, "I give it to the homeless Faunus and Humans down in the Industrial District every night, hence why I'm always riding around town on my bike about this time."

"Oh, do you want me and Ruby to go so you can-" Yang was the one who was cut off this time, being silenced by a crimson gloved index finger being pressed against her plump lips.

"It's fine, Yang," Akira grinned before using the hand he silenced her with to reach out and draw her closer to him in a side hug, "I want to spend time with all of my sisters and get to know them better, if you don't mind?"

Yang found she couldn't agree more and neither could Ruby and Futaba.

 **[PL]**

The sound of sobbing filled the home of one Taiyang Xiao Long as the blond haired man sat on his couch and wept. At his side was his former teammate and life long friend, Qrow Branwen, both men clutching a bottle of whiskey in their hands.

"It's just not right!" Taiyang shouted once more at the top of his lungs, "How could she just do that to me?! To Yang?! Hell, to her own son?!"

Each question was stated louder and louder, though the answer to each question was as vague as the ones prior to them. Qrow didn't have the answers that Taiyang sought. Qrow doubted even Raven herself had the answers to the questions posed by Taiyang.

"I know," Qrow agreed before knocking his bottle back once more, taking a deep drought of the burning liquid before sighing loudly in both pleasure and disgust with himself, "I know, Tai, it's fucked up. We jus' got to deal with it, like we always do."

"Yeah," Taiyang agreed sadly while glancing down at his own bottle before setting it down on the table before him, "I... I want to adopt him!"

"Er, what?" Qrow nearly choked on his tongue as he tried to process the words of his best friend, "No, that's... that's stupid. You're stupid."

"No, you're stupid," Tai retorted hotly, pointing the bottle of whiskey at Qrow as if it were a weapon, "I'm gonna' adopt him, and there ain't nothing you can do about it!"

"Tai, you aren't listening... you legally _can't_ , he's an adult!"

"Oh..."

"Yeah, _oh._ Dumbass."


	15. Spring Has Come

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **1**_ _ **5,**_ _ **Spring Has Come**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _Thank you all so, so much for helping me reach 500 favorites and over 666 followers! How amusing, perhaps that is a sign I should get back to Exalted before long... hmm._

 _I am sorry, TeamKyuubi13, for deciding to have there be a genetic relation between Yang and Akira. That does not automatically mean that there won't be any flirting or light romance scenes in the future, especially considering Yang had already developed a pretty healthy crush on Akira before finding out he was her 'Half-Brother'._

 _Romantic feelings don't disappear over night, just throwing that out there. If enough people want it, we might see some 'forbidden love' happening behind the scenes, or not. Doesn't matter to me, honestly, because I'm fine with writing it both ways._

 _Without the presence of Nyx the Waveform, there is no way for the Humans or Faunus on Remnant to have developed 'Shadows' or the ability to wield their true Inner Self as a Persona. Even Akira's children won't exactly be able to wield Persona either for the same reason._

 _It seems I crashed two different ships last night when I posted chapter 14! Sorry to both the VSS Yang and VSS Ruby! :c We can rebuild them, better and stronger than before, we have the technology! And the plot!_

 _Oh yeah, the plot. I better get to that instead of talking so much._

 _Sorry, I know I hinted at it earlier, but I still felt it was needed. I know quite a few people are going to question **why** , but there is a very good reason behind my choice. You'll see._

 **[PL]**

Yang and Ruby had returned home for the night after quite a few hours of spending time with Akira, Futaba and even Blake after the feline Faunus returned home from her book shopping, leaving the three to finally have the cafe to themselves once more.

As much as Akira had quickly grown to enjoy the company of Yang and unsurprisingly Ruby as well, he was still rather deep in his existential crisis to be the best company he could have been. The blond boxer seemed to understand just how heavily the news weighed on his mind and kept their conversation rather light compared to the many subjects Yang would usually broach with him. Despite keeping their conversations light, however, she had proven that she had the same mother hen tendencies that Akira himself wielded with extreme proficiency.

It ended up involving an argument on who was going to dote on who, though not in those exact words. Akira wanted to cook for Yang, Ruby, Futaba and Blake, but Yang tried insisting she take over for the night to let Akira rest after working all day.

Of course, there had to be a compromise that resulted in Akira and Yang alike cooking for the group of five, bumping into one another nearly every step they took before Blake finally had to step in. Considering that Blake had been working each time that Yang and Ruby had come to the cafe, it did not surprise either sister to find that she also lived at the cafe as well.

Yang, of course, immediately jumped to the conclusion that Blake and Akira had been involved in a relationship, something that both had to deny quickly before Yang could continue. Blake only confirmed Akira's words afterwards with a nod, now that he thought about it.

Of course, Yang and Ruby both were fine with another person joining them, especially when Akira asked as politely as he had. It didn't hurt that the three found they had similar interests and goals in mind, each determined to become Huntresses in the near future. While Ruby gushed about Signal and Yang regaled then with tales of her conquests, as she called their mock missions, Akira and Blake both wore bemused expressions that neither sister knew the meaning behind.

Blake was difficult to impress and it took actual effort for her to express any such notions, so it was with a pleasant smile and brief nods of the head that she partook in the conversation.

When the subject of Akira's past came up once more in the form of probing questions by Yang and Blake alike, the frizzy haired Faunus was forced to explain certain details about himself that he would have otherwise kept to himself.

It was with a straight face that Akira admitted to having had two previous love interests in his life, both within the past two years. It was the way he admitted such things, however, that prevented either of the two inquisitive teenagers from pressing for further details.

Blake knew all too well the look on his face and was able to form a few theories based on his reaction alone. None of her theories were pleasant and did not bode well for the state of his emotions beneath the surface. There was always a small smile on Akira's face, but his eyes always gained an almost haunted glare whenever he thought about something she could only assume was related to his recent past.

She wasn't privy to the details of anything he did before coming to Vale outside of scant few facts about his person, rather than what he's done. Despite her curiosity, though, Blake knew when to push, and when to fall back.

Yang did not press further either, though she felt her heart clench a bit upon hearing his admission and seeing the look on his face. The blank gaze of hazy crimson did not contain the usual fires of passion that burned brightly within, instead dying down into what could only be called cinders.

Whenever Akira gazed at Futaba, or even the framed photograph beside the counter, Yang could see the phantoms of who he truly was dancing just below the surface. She didn't know what it would take to evoke those phantoms or stoke those flames, but she would do her damnedest to try for her little brothers sake.

Akira didn't know a thing about how siblings were supposed to act around one another, or how to even form a true sibling relationship with the two new found sources of confusion in his life. Sae and Makoto were _horrible_ examples, as were quite a good few of the cases he became involved with during his time as a Phantom Thief.

Ruby had been excitable and chattered about absolutely everything that came to her mind, and it was with little surprise that Futaba was the only one to keep up with her. Either of Akira's little sisters were sipping away at one of his bottled cold-brew coffee's with a small dab of chocolate syrup infused with it to enrich it's flavor.

That, and both sisters happened to be sugar addicts in different ways. Chocolate happened to be a nice medium between Vanilla and Strawberry, somehow.

Akira felt a chill travel down his spine and had become increasingly nervous throughout the night at the thought of Neo tracking him down for his thoughts. It was only when he evoked the three flavors of her forbidden ice-cream did he receive the foreboding feeling, so he blamed the diminutive figure almost immediately after thinking about it.

The frizzy haired teenager ignored the fact that his Scroll began to vibrate in his pocket as soon as he thought of the figure as well, thinking of it as merely a coincidence.

Ruby and Futaba had hit it off even better than Akira had assumed they would, going as far as exchanging contact information and texting one another excitedly and dragging Yang and himself into a group chat despite the fact that Ruby had _just_ left an hour prior. Akira couldn't stop the pleased smile from his face as he wrapped his arms around the lithe females shoulders and pulled her into his chest, his chin resting atop her crown as she continued to tap away at her Scroll's interface happily.

"You know, I'm really glad you bribed me to come downstairs earlier," Futaba hummed under her breath as she sent yet another text to Ruby before closing her texting application and bringing up the security interface that allowed her to peruse the many security cameras placed around Leblanc Deux, "Not only did I get a free back massage, but I made _two_ new friends today!"

"I'm glad as well," Akira admitted, his voice heavy with sleep as his eyes fell to be half-lidded, "You know you're spoiled, right?"

"Pfft, hell yeah I am," Futaba didn't seem ashamed in the least which came as little surprise to Akira, "You only do it cuz' you love me, right?"

"Of course it's because I love you, duh." Akira agreed almost instantly with a drawl, causing her to stammer a few times before smacking one of his long legs with her right palm, "Ow! I tell you I love you and then you hit me?"

"Yet again, we both know you like it," Futaba murmured her response this time, almost too lowly for Akira to pick up if not for the feline ears atop his head, "I've seen what you look up on your phone... Scroll, whatever."

"I thought I told you that was Ryuji who looked that up," Akira's smile became slightly strained as he was called out by Futaba on his rather peculiar taste in 'Entertainment', "Can we _not_ have this conversation again? It's not like you have _any_ room to be talking about people anyway, little miss voyeur."

"I am not ashamed and nothing you say will make me feel bad," Futaba denied Akira's retort with a shrug of her shoulders, "I'm not trying to shame you, just saying that being attracted to women who want to tie you-"

Akira wrapped one arm around Futaba's stomach while the other snaked around her face to forcefully stop her from speaking by covering her mouth. "You _really_ need to stop talking so loudly, do you forget that we have someone sitting _three feet from our door_ _writing in her journal_?"

It didn't help that Akira had confirmed, multiple times, that Blake was a closet pervert of almost epic proportions, so adding any fuel to the fire that was her dirty mind was absolutely forboden. Futaba did it anyway, just for the 'lols' as she so smugly stated time and time again.

Blake had learned more about Akira in the past few days through passing comments by Futaba than Akira wanted known, like his preference towards wild, black hair like his own and pale skin. How the petite hermit even know that about him was beyond Akira's comprehension, only for the startling realization of his _journal_ still hiding beneath the mattress in his room that had never been put in his safe when Futaba moved in to come barreling into his mind.

A journal that he had nearly forgotten about completely.

A journal that Futaba had likely read from front to back and had digital copies saved on her Scroll for blackmail by this point in time. It was with this realization that Akira redoubled his efforts in causing the orange haired hermit to squeal.

His final words were hissed lightly in Futaba's ear, causing her to shudder against his chest lightly before she shook her head in the negative.

"Oh, so you're being so loud on purpose...?" Akira mused while using his left hand to trace circles on her almost bare stomach, "Perhaps you need to be _punished_? Surely not?"

Futaba squeaked as Akira dug his fingers into her stomach lightly before wiggling them, causing her to lurch left and right quickly while her muffled giggles began to escape from her mouth, despite the firm hand Akira kept pressed over her lips.

"See what happens when you sneak peaks at peoples personal thoughts?" Akira teased as he continued to tickle the orange haired female placed in his lap, his fingers dancing across her stomach before working their way to her ribs, "I will stop if you promise you will never, _ever_ tell a soul about what you saw in that journal."

"Ngvgrrrr!" Futaba growled against his hand, roughly translating to a drawn out 'never' before she began to buck a bit harder against his hold. One particular thrust of her hips sent Akira reeling backwards before she slipped out of his grip before reversing their roles.

Futaba turned to face Akira before pushing him backwards onto his bed and taking her spot on his lap once more, a victorious smile on her face before she began to tickle him in return. The tables had been turned and soon, Akira found himself attempting to remove Futaba from him as her fingertips dug into his stomach.

"Ah, no!" Akira laughed loudly while bucking his hips once before deciding it was best he didn't, "Futaba, stop! I- I can't-!"

Futaba, of course, did not stop, leaving Akira to squirm and writhe beneath her as she continued to torment him with her devilish fingers pressing into his ribs and stomach alike. "Hell nah, brah! Can't stand the heat, stay outta' the kitchen!"

"I-, no, please, you have to-!" Akira was cut off as Futaba pressed her hand against his mouth just as he had her, preventing him from warning her on just what she was doing to him, "Mhmph! Ffftba!"

"Mwehehe," Futaba leaned over until her mauve gaze came to rest just an inch from Akira's burning orbs, "I thought you liked it when you get held down, Akira!"

Akira would have rolled his eyes if he could but instead forced himself to focus on keeping calm and breathing despite being tickled nearly to death by the orange haired demon straddling his waist.

Finally, Futaba seemed to get her fill of making him squirm before setting herself down upon his chest, her head coming to rest just above his rapidly beating heart. She wasn't expecting for Akira to quickly flip her over until he came to lean over her, his breathing heavy and his face slightly flushed.

"I'm going to go grab a shower, you need anything before bed?" Akira spoke almost a bit too quickly for her to understand, forcing him to slow down his breathing and words forcefully to try again.

"I'm good, thanks though." Futaba sent him a beaming smile before settling into bed as if she hadn't just tortured the only remaining person left of their previous group so far.

The frizzy haired Faunus slipped from the room moments later, his posture rather tense for having been so relaxed prior to their tickle fight.

A victorious grin soon crossed the face of Futaba as she stretched her arms above her head and sighed in content. If Akira thought he could get away with sticking her in the sister zone, he was sorely mistaken.

 **[PL]**

 _'Oh. My. God. I knew you were into some freaky stuff from your biker outfit, but Futaba just blew my mind.' Received from Yang at 2:32 PM_

 _'What did she do or say now?' Sent at 2:35 PM_

 _'I asked what kind of music you listened to and she sent me a song titled 'Or Nah', maybe you've heard it?' Received from Yang at 2:42 PM_

 _'Oh jeez...' Sent at 2:47 PM_

 _'Is that all you have to say? Really? What goes on in that head of yours, Akira!?' Received from Yang at 2:49 PM_

 _'Awesome stuff, obviously. Don't hate, appreciate. Anyway, what are you up to?' Sent at 2:51 PM_

 _'Just about to hit the gym and then going to spar with my dad, you?' Received from Yang at 2:54 PM_

 _'Enjoying a rather slow day, honestly. Speaking of, finally have customers, I'll text you when I close.' Sent at 2:55 PM_

Akira stared at his Scroll for a moment before tapping the microphone in his ear, causing it to spark to life before transmitting the noise generated on Futaba's side. "Why did you pick _that_ song out of every other song on my play list to send to Yang?"

" _I don't know what you're talking about, Akira,"_ Futaba was grinning when she spoke, Akira could tell by the smugness in her tone, "' _Or Nah' is a fantastic song about love, passion and money, plus you were humming it under your breath last night and you know it."_

"You are unbelievable, that was _you_ humming it." Akira groaned lowly before he snapped to attention upon hearing the door to Leblanc Deux opening by the bell ringing twice, "Welcome to Leblanc Deux, our special today is sweet green curry served over jasmine rice. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you, madam."

"Well hello, handsome," Came the response of the first person to step through the door, a rather tall brown haired female wielding a belt with bullets lining the strap, "I see the rumors _were_ true!"

"I cannot say I know which rumors you are speaking of," Akira smiled lightly at the womans words, pearly white fangs peaking from beneath his upper lip, "I hope they were good, miss...?"

"Coco Adel, second year student at Beacon and bad-ass extrodinair, a pleasure," The newly named Coco introduced herself before giving Akira another once over with her eyes, "And you must be Akira Kurusu, then?"

Akira returned the once over and took her appearance in quickly, finding that he quite liked the fashion Coco ascribed to. A brown turtleneck shirt covered her torso with a dark brown waist cincher covering her stomach and ribs. Dark brown trousers the same shade as her waist cincher covered her waist and legs baring ribbons on the left and two different belts decorated with bullets. The second belt around her waist had a cross hair buckle and seemed to have actual ammunition displayed within a bandolier, seemingly a running theme with multiple different parts of her outfit.

Her appearance was certainly eye catching and if his theory was correct, as expensive as his own taste in clothing.

"The one and only," Akira nodded lightly before extending a gloved hand Coco to take, "The pleasure is mine, miss Adel. How may I be of service this fine day?"

Coco's grip was a bit more firm than Akira was expecting but he easily kept his face schooled into a smile despite the intense pain now radiating from his creaking bones. After a moment, the smile on Coco's face became more pronounced as it became obvious Akira wasn't going to buckle under her display of strength.

"You can start me off with a large chocolate mocha with extra whipped cream, if you don't mind," Coco took a seat at the counter while leaning forward a bit, "The rest of my team should be here soon, if you don't mind the company. We need somewhere to relax for a bit and I've heard the atmosphere of this place is perfect after a long mission."

"The more the merrier," Akira began to work immediately on her order while bringing a small plate of cakes to act as an appetizer, "I suppose word about Leblanc would have to get around eventually, I'm glad I'm starting to drag in even more Huntsmen and Huntresses."

Coco tilted her dark sunglasses down with her index finger before sending him a wink. "I've had to wait an entire month to get back to Vale so I could see for myself, and believe me... I think it was well worth the wait."

Akira couldn't help but return the rather flirtatious wink as he set her drink down on the counter next to her cakes.

The two fell into a light conversation about Akira's favorite clothing stores and styles of threads when yet another customer strode through his door, this one far taller than most people Akira had seen yet.

"Welcome to Leblanc Deux, our special today is sweet green curry served over jasmine rice," Akira greeted the tall male clad in green robes, brown pants and golden armor over his left arm, "Please let me know if there is anything I can get you, sir."

"Thank you," The giant of a teenager spoke gently, nodding his head gratefully as he took a seat next to Coco, "I would most appreciate a large plate of your Curry, if you don't mind."

The giant turned his attention to Coco after speaking, the smaller female greeting the large male with a smile and a clap on the shoulder, letting Akira know that his newest customer was likely one of Coco's teammates.

Within another few minutes, the green giant was blowing gently on his curry and rice before taking his first bite of the food. Akira watched carefully as the strangely large being went through a myriad of reactions before settling on an expression that Akira could only call contentment.

"This is the best curry I've ever tasted in my life." The teammate of Coco spoke softly, his deep voice easily carrying through Leblanc, "The sweetness of the honey and the twang of the jasmine rice blend beautifully with the green chili's. The green chili's seem to enhance the sweetness of the caramelized honey rather than detract from it. Simply magnificent."

"You have quite the set of taste buds, my large friend," Akira complimented with a bemused expression upon his face, "Believe it or not, there is a science behind creating this specific type of curry."

Any further explination behind the creation process of Sojiro's famous curry was cut off as two more people entered the cafe, a short female Faunus with dark brown hair, pale white skin and tall rabbit ears followed by a taller, dark skinned male with bright orange hair and solid white eyes.

Once more, Akira found himself greeting his new customers with the standard. "Welcome to Leblanc Deux, our special today is sweet green curry served over jasmine rice. Please let me know if there is anything I can get you."

Neither of the two newcomers spoke, though the female Faunus sent him furtive glances and a small smile after a few seconds of silence as what he could assume was her own way of greeting him back.

"Fox, Velvet, you're both late," Coco admonished while lowering her shades once more to glance at the last two of her teammates to show up, "Did something else come up, Fox?"

"Everything is fine," The orange haired man now named Fox answered tensely, "Velvet didn't want to come, I made her like you asked. Don't know why you didn't get Yatsuhashi to just carry her like you did last time."

From context clues, Akira learned that the giant of a man's name was Yatsuhashi while the small rabbit Faunus was named Velvet. From the way Coco was the one to berate the final two members of her team for their lateness, it was obvious that she was the team leader of the group of four.

"I was almost arrested for kidnapping and evading police, I'd rather not experience that again." Yatsuhashi spoke up, his heavy voice once more carrying over the silence that filled Leblanc, "Velvet had to spend nearly an hour explaining to the kind officer that I wasn't a creep and that she indeed knew me."

Akira hid a small laugh by covering his mouth and disguising it as a cough, knowing that the blushing Velvet would likely not appreciate having a stranger laugh at her expense if the pout on her face was any indication.

"Yatsu!" Velvet groaned while placing her face in her hands, "I thought we said we wouldn't talk about that anymore!"

"Fox asked a question, I thought it prudent to answer him before he gets angry again." Yatsuhashi sighed before turning his attention to Akira, "Would it be possible to trouble you for seconds, my friend?"

"Coming right up," Akira agreed quickly, already feeling that he gained yet another regular from the happy expression on Yatsuhashi's face, "Would you like a glass of water or anything else to drink?"

"Ah, a glass of water would be fine," Yatsuhashi placed a closed fist into an open palm in Akira's direction, reminding the frizzy haired teenager of a few monks he used to spy on during their training, "Your name implies you are from Mistral, yes?"

"Not quite, but close enough," Akira didn't want to claim the Eastern Kingdom as his home, especially due to the fact that he only knew one other person from Mistral and held no knowledge of the Kingdom at all, "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I was hoping you were familiar with one of the dishes I used to eat, Dorayaki. I would pay a fortune for some good pancakes with sweet red-bean paste." The gentle green giant sighed before turning his attention towards the second plate of sweet green curry placed before him.

Akira thought for a few moments before snapping his fingers, "I happen to know the dish, actually, if you are still interested. I ordered extra red-bean paste last week and pancakes are simple."

Akira hadn't seen a man's head snap away from a plate of his curry so quickly in his life.

"How many pancakes will two hundred Lien get me?"

"I think about two stacks as tall as you? However many you can eat, honestly, that's a lot of money." Akira wasn't going to turn down the offer, knowing that Huntsmen and Huntresses made _damn_ good money compared to most civilian jobs, "Two hundred Lien would honestly get you and your team however much of whatever you want for the night."

"You have yourself a deal," Coco was the one who spoke up before Yatsuhashi could reach into his robes to retrieve his wallet, "We'll split the tab four ways, if that's the case. Now, how about another round of those cute little cakes, my fine feline friend?"

"Right away, miss Adel." Akira didn't mind the bossy tone or how amused the aviator wearing Huntress became at his compliance.

Two hundred Lien was a good bit of money, after all, and he was going to do his best to earn it.

 **[PL]**

Akira scratched the back of his head as he stared down at the large stack of pancakes left over from the feast of Team CFVY, or 'Coffee', as Coco had called her group of four.

"I think I may have overdone it." Akira sighed as he began to walk around the counter to close the shop for the night despite it being an hour early, "I sure hope Leopold and the rest like pancakes. Who am I kidding, who doesn't like pancakes?"

"RIGHT?!" Came an exuberant shout from his doorway, the door having been flung open just before he spoke aloud, "YOU GET LIFE, MY FRIEND!"

"Er, what? I mean, of course I get life." Akira straightened up a bit and agreed with the screaming orange haired female dressed in pink now standing in his doorway, "Welcome to Leblanc Deux, our special today _was_ sweet green curry served over jasmine rice, but now it's pancakes."

"Is is because _I'm_ here now?" The orange haired stranger questioned excitedly, bouncing in place at the thought, "THIS PLACE IS AWESOME! Hey, wait..."

The female teenager dressed in pink trailed off as her attention was drawn to the photograph hanging to the right of the cafe, her electric teal eyes narrowing before widening tremendously.

"No _way!_ REN! RENNY! WHERE ARE YA, BUDDY?!" The teen stuck her head from the door of Leblanc and began to shout for someone named Ren, causing Akira to tilt his head in confusion while suppressing a wince from the volume of her voice, "HURRY, YOU AND OUR NEW FRIEND NEED TO COME HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Akira took a few steps back away from the entrance to behind the counter and put a few more obstacles in between himself and the doorway, just in case the orange haired female and her comrades ended up being violent. It wasn't every day that he had customers screaming at the top of their lungs in his doorway for people to come to Leblanc right then, after all.

"Er, Ma'am, is everything okay?" Akira questioned with trepidation while tapping his headphone twice to get Futaba's attention once more and speaking lowly into his microphone, "I don't know what's going on, can you see anything outside?"

" _We have two figures running up the sidewalk, both with their weapons drawn, one male one female. Get unde-"_

Akira ducked down as the doorway was flung open once more before drawing his pistol and holding it at the ready.

"Nora, what's going on?!" Came the frantic voice of the male figure as he came barreling into Leblanc, his weapons pointing in random directions as he scanned the shop front for any threat.

"Nora?" Came another voice from the doorway, though Akira could have sworn he had heard the second voice before, "Is... wait... I... I know this place! This is... Leblanc?!"

Akira poked his head from around the corner slowly as the crackling voice of Futaba screamed in his ears once more. _"NO WAY! I- I KNEW IT!"_

Standing in the doorway with a male with black hair with a strip of pink highlights and the excitable ginger in pink was another person that Akira thought dead, someone that he and Futaba alike only theorized as possibly being alive.

" _HARU!"_

"Haru..."

"Akira-kun?!"

"NORA!"

"Damn it, Nora..."


	16. Sturm Und Drang

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **1**_ _ **6,**_ _ **Sturm Und Drang**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _It is very good to see so many people enjoying this so far. Sorry for being a filthy liar, but it happens, sometimes, maybe? Including Haru was part of the plan all along, so... yeah. I'm actually telling the truth when I say you won't see the rest, though, so just gonna nip that in the bud right now._

 _Haru is the last PT to join._

 _The sister zone is a horrible place to be put for pining females, but it may be escapable yet!_

 _I hope you get to feeling better, ThatGuyReturns, seriously! The cold I had still lingers in my system, so that should tell you just how bad it was._

 _Sorry, Haru had a Dio moment. I'm getting pretty good at this whole wordplay thing I think?_

 _I can't really say, The Deck Master, but..._

 **[PL]**

The sound of two objects hitting the ground at nearly the same time filled the cafe, as did the sound of harsh breathing coming from two different beings.

Akira's pistol hit the ground at the same time as Haru's axe as the Beauty Thief flung herself towards the wide eyed figure before her in desperation and elation. Akira spread his arms just in time to catch Haru and spin on his heels, a laugh of disbelief escaping him while the tears pooling in his eyes began to collect in thick droplets in the corner of his eyes.

Upon completing the rotation, the frizzy haired teenager allowed his long arms to wrap tightly around Haru's lower back before pulling her as tightly against him as he possibly could. Haru returned the gesture with equal force, displaying a surprising amount of strength as she wrapped either arm around the neck of Akira and forced her face into the crook of his neck.

The scent of cinnamon filled his being with warmth, yet it did nothing to stop the tears from soaking into Haru's white blouse or the purple dress vest she wore over it.

All of the guilt he felt in failing to destroy the Holy Grail came back with a vengeance as his body was wracked with silent sobs. The knowledge that yet another member of his group had been alive and wandering Remnant while he was sitting cushy in Vale stabbed into his heart like a blade and twisted harshly, causing him to nearly blackout from the intense feeling of self-loathing that came with the realization.

If not for the cool hand of Haru reaching up to run through his hair calming him down, Akira feared he would devolve into hysterics as he had when Futaba first appeared at Leblanc. Haru whispered soft, gentle nothings into his ear, reassuring him with sweet coos through her own tears.

"I'm so sorry, Haru... I failed you, the entire _world_..." Akira whispered harshly, just low enough to where Nora and Ren could hear but not understand his words.

"Hush now, Akira... you didn't fail me, or the world." Haru whispered back lovingly, her voice as thick with emotion as his, if not more so, "You know I could never think that about you, even now."

Akira couldn't respond, his voice failing him once more as he attempted to do so. Instead, all that escaped him was a throaty moan so filled with sorrow that Ren and Nora both recoiled from hearing the noise.

It was like that of a wounded animal on it's deathbed, knowing that there was nothing it could do to survive yet wanting nothing more than to have one more day of life. Hearing that same whine come from a sentient being stirred something within Ren and Nora alike, each having experienced the same feeling of sorrow that could evoke such a powerful cry of pain.

"I... I take it the others...?" Haru began unsurely, though Akira understood her question without the need for her to finish it.

"We... Futaba and I..." Akira couldn't formulate a sentence, could barely form a rational thought, let alone bring himself to explain to Haru his worst fears.

"I... we can talk about it later, for now..." Haru noted lightly while starting to run her hands through his hair once more, "For now, we catch up."

Akira was able to read between the lines and shifted his focus from the fluffy haired teenager clasped against him and to the two traveling companions that still stood in the door.

"I take it these two are with you then?" Akira reluctantly released Haru and allowed her to pull away temporarily, though from the way the two eyeballed one another afterwards, it was clear that it was against both of their wills.

"Yes, this is Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, good friends and traveling companions of mine," Haru turned and gestured towards Ren and then Nora before bringing her hand towards her chest, "I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for them."

"I see..." Akira trailed off while bending down to pick up his dropped weapon before storing it inside of his coat once more and straightening the slightly wrinkled piece of clothing as best he could. Within seconds, the frizzy haired teenager composed himself well enough to be somewhat presentable.

It was regrettable that those outside of his immediate circle of comrades had to see him in such a state, but seeing Haru come running through the door of Leblanc was more than he could have hoped for. He was beyond grateful to have Futaba in his life once more, but even he knew not to hope to see any other members of his ruined band of fellow thieves. It was a wild shot in the dark when Futaba and he theorized her survival, and it seems that shot had hit the target.

Shaking his head once and clearing the maelstrom of thoughts tearing through his mind, Akira instead allowed his face to be schooled into a slightly neutral, if not warm expression.

Taking a few steps forward until he was standing before the two companions of Haru, Akira eventually extended his hand towards Ren while flashing the green-clad teenager a smile that was as weak as it looked. Ren hesitated all of a second before clasping his hand into Akira's, accepting the silent thanks for what it was. Nora was next, though the orange haired teenager refused to accept his hand and instead pulled Akira into a tight hug that stole his breath away from it's force.

Nora quickly released him after realizing just how awkward it was for him, especially as he stiffened in her embrace and shifted his head in Ren's direction. While she couldn't see his face, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was sending her life long companion a questioning look that Ren likely answered with a shrug.

"Sorry! Haru told me so much about you so it feels like this wasn't really our first time meeting. Silly me, tee-hee!" Nora stuck her tongue out as she rapped her knuckles against her skull as if to emphasize how little she thought before she acted, especially if the hollow noise that echoed outwards from her head was anything to go by.

Akira laughed lightly at her words before waving his hand to dismiss her concern. "It's fine, miss Nora, no harm, no foul. Any friend of Haru's is a friend of mine."

"Goodie! Well, how about me and Renny let you two catch up, hmm? Come on, Renny, conquest awaits us!" Nora quickly snatched Ren's hand and began to drag him towards the door once more, causing the black haired teenager to comply before Nora dislocated his shoulder for the third time.

"You'll text us later, right?" Nora stopped in her tracks and turned to Haru for a moment, the look in her eyes speaking of tumultuous emotions dancing beneath the surface.

"Of course!" Haru gasped as if she were offended by the question before giggling into her palm, "I promise I will let you know what's going on later. We still have a few days before you two depart for Beacon, correct?"

"Yes, two days left until I get to start getting paid for kicking Grimm butt!" Nora cheered while Ren did his best to pretend his life long companion was not a closet psychopath. The giggle of Haru, however, reminded him that his newest companion was _also_ a closet psychopath.

Nora resumed dragging Ren away after waving happily to Akira and Haru once more, a jaunty tune being hummed under her breath as she and her green clad companion disappeared into the crowd of passers by outside of Leblanc.

Akira locked the door behind the two and slowly turned his attention to Haru once more, the small smile on his face dropping until his expression denoted his internal thoughts once more.

"Akira-kun..."

Haru was cut off as Akira lurched forward and wrapped his arms around Haru once more, his gloved fingers digging lightly into the small of her back as he pulled her towards him as close as he possibly could.

"Haru," Akira breathed lowly as the weak emotional mask he threw on for Ren and Nora's sake began to crumble once more, "Haru-chan..."

The fluffy haired former heiress felt her own mask of strength fall to pieces as Akira devolved into unintelligible sobbing while clutching at her as if she were his final life-line.

"Shh, shh... I'm here now, it's going to be okay." Haru whispered as the tears she had been fighting back began to fall as well, her hands coming up to rub small circles along Akira's back to help soothe his frayed emotions, "I'm not going anywhere, Akira-kun, never again."

 **[PL]**

Haru sighed in content as she settled herself into the large tub in Akira's bathroom, the warm water filled to the brim of the tub covering her body completely. While she, Ren and Nora had stayed at quite a few inns during the last few months of their journey to Vale, none had warm, running water like the homes within the four Kingdoms of Remnant did. Closing her eyes and holding her breath, Haru allowed herself to sink completely below the water before surfacing seconds later.

The scent of mugwort suffused through the water thanks to the small tincture of concentrated solution Akira had given her to help her relax. It had been a long time since she had been able to relish the scent that reminded her so much of the person she looked up to as highly as she did. She shivered lightly, not from any cold feeling, but delight in knowing Akira was just a room away. It brought her no small amount of elation to know that he was still among the living, if not slightly different than she remembered.

Akira's large, black cat ears had been something that caused Haru some moment of thought before he had whispered the name of another friend Haru knew she wouldn't ever see again. Morgana and his sacrifice would certainly explain why Akira had survived being erased from the cognition of Humanity, though it seemed to imply a sort of fusion occurring in the process.

There had been an agreement between six of the eight Phantom Thieves that Akira and Morgana had opposite problems in that Akira was a cat trapped in the body of a human while Morgana had been a human stuck in the body of a cat.

Haru could see that _clearly_ they were all on to something.

Despite the large feline ears he boasted atop his head and the haunting, crimson eyes that were the same shade as when he dove into Mementos, Akira was still the same person who led her through the fire and flames of what she considered Hell.

Futaba had been the same as well, almost to the letter if not for the far off look in her eyes as she stared at Haru during her moments of silence.

It was almost as if they couldn't believe she were there, still trying to convince themselves that they weren't dreaming. Haru couldn't possibly blame them for their disbelief, still idly rubbing her thigh beneath the water where she had pinched herself viciously a few times to be sure. Her Aura had dulled and removed the sting of the pinches almost immediately afterwards, leaving nary a mark upon her porcelain colored flesh.

Sighing in content once more, Haru allowed her body to lay backwards, leaving the water to raise to her chin as she relaxed further into the lightly medicated water.

Three hours had passed since she and Ren had come barreling into Leblanc Deux with their weapons drawn, three hours since Akira and Futaba welcomed her back into their lives with open arms. It was the most heart wrenching moment in Haru's life, if she were honest, being held so desperately by someone she had thought immovable.

Haru had thought she would never see him again, had thought that she was all alone in the world with only Ren and Nora to keep her grounded. Now, however, such thoughts were gone with the wind and once more, she found herself smiling despite the heavy depression that had befallen her since awakening in the wilds of Anima.

Thinking about her awakening caused the smile on her face to crumple a bit before she shook her head lightly to dismiss such dark thoughts, instead forcing herself to focus on the good that has come from that period in her life.

From what Nora and Ren had said, she had been found unconscious on the side of the road with only her axe and small purse filled with trinkets and jewels found during the Phantom Thieves time in Mementos. A Grimm, a Beowulf more specifically, had been poised to rip her to shreds when Nora and Ren intervened in a timely manner before hauling her unconscious form, weapon and all, to the nearest settlement a few miles away.

Haru had awoken a day later, confused and more than a little weary of the fact she was being watched over by complete strangers speaking in English, or Valean as those of Remnant called it. The introduction between the three had been tense, as were the first few hours that Haru spent in their company.

She quickly grew used to the hyperactivity of Nora and the almost solemn neutrality of Ren, however, and decided to follow them on their quest to journey to Vale after admitting to having no idea where she was. The town names, while familiar in the fact they were Japanese, did not ring a bell in the least for Haru, nor did the name of the continent she awoke on.

While the Okumura heiress wasn't the top student at Shujin, she knew the names of the continents by heart and thus couldn't place the names 'Anima', the continent she was currently on, or 'Sanus', the continent Ren and Nora were traveling to. Names such as 'Mistral', 'Vale', 'Atlas' and 'Vacuo' were equally as unfamiliar to her, leaving Haru to quickly come to the conclusion that she was no longer in Kansas, as the saying from one of her favorite movies in the past went.

Ren and Nora couldn't exactly explain her lack of knowledge on certain subjects, nor could she, yet they pressed no further and instead took it upon themselves to expand upon her lacking knowledge base as they traveled.

Haru didn't like lying, but even she knew better than attempting to tell the two that she came from another planet all together, thus forcing her to keep her silence and play ignorant whenever Ren or Nora asked a question she found she couldn't exactly answer without making it obvious that she wasn't quite as honest as she could have been. If Ren and Nora knew, however, they kept it to themselves and played ignorant as well as she did, something she would be eternally grateful for.

Haru learned quite a bit about the world around her as the three traveled from town to town, including just how harsh the world of Remnant truly was. The Creatures of Grimm were terrible to face alone, sure, but Haru had come face to face with a man-made God and technically lived to tell the tale.

Others could not boast of having faced down beings such as Haru once did, however, leaving them ill prepared to face the beasts without Aura.

Aura, in Haru's opinion, was a wonderful source of strength, as was Dust. There was little doubt in her mind that such discoveries on Earth could have saved millions of lives, perhaps billions, just as well as it would doom as many as it saved. Her own Aura, and subsequently her Semblance, had been awoken by Nora a week into Haru's inclusion in their journey south when it became clear that Haru was struggling a bit more than expected with recovering from a particularly nasty gash on her arm she received from an Ursa.

Aura was so much like, yet unlike Mana that Haru took to it almost as if she were born with it, leaving both Ren and Nora alike gaping in astonishment at the skill in which she controlled the energy. Beyond the control she wielded, however, it was her Semblance that caused such a reaction in her newest companions.

If Haru hadn't been the one controlling the massive willow tree to crush an Ursa Major before it could blindside Nora, she likely would have been astonished as well.

Botanakinesis was the most terrifying ability Haru could have possibly been granted while completely surrounded by a forest and neither Ren nor Nora could look her in the eyes for a few days after her bout of maniacal laughter and the subsequent slaughter of Grimm that occurred thereafter.

Of the six months Haru had spent in the company of Ren and Nora, only a month of said time was within a civilized setting. She didn't mind, of course, as being surrounded by plant life on all sides was far more soothing to her than being in a crowded city ever was.

Mistral, for all of it's similarities with Japan, did not appeal to Haru in the least. Despite being far more integrated with nature than Vale, the tension in the air of the eastern Kingdom could be cut with a knife it was so thick. Haru had been accosted multiple times during her time in Mistral as the group of three awaited the ship to the southern continent, leaving her with a terrible impression of the men and women there.

The crime rate in Mistral was nearly as bad as in Vacuo, which was in a state of near anarchy from what Haru understood, leaving Ren, Nora and Haru to spend most of their time in their room and not out exploring the beautiful but disgusting Kingdom.

Of course, most people gave Haru a wide berth when she had Fleur Du Mal in her hand, so the fluffy haired teenager made it a habit of keeping the demonic axe slung over her shoulder instead of on her back. Her choice of attire, closely matching that of her Thief attire save for slimmer riding pants in place of her purple bloomers, gave her an aristocratic appearance, but her weapon belied her true nature as a savage fighter who enjoyed what she did with her weapon.

Fleur Du Mal had been the last gift Akira had given her before the Phantom Thieves last heist and had become her life line, in more ways than one. The Flower of Evil was a beautifully demonic looking weapon forged with the intent on keeping Haru safe, and keep her safe it did. No matter how many times she cleaved through the bone plating and skulls of Grimm, the blade did not falter or dull, instead remaining pristine in shape and structural integrity.

The ebony blade and handle of the massive executioner-styled axe seemed to be a singular piece instead of a blade affixed within a rather decorated handle, giving it a wonderful resistance to breaking the shaft from a heavy strike. Roses were etched upon the surface of the blade of her axe and inlaid with gold while vines of similar design descended down the handle of the double handed axe to the pommel of the mighty weapon. It was, without a doubt, just as much a work of art as it was an instrument of death and mayhem.

The final feature of the strange axe was the fact that it could double as a scythe as well that tied it all together for Haru and cemented it as her favorite weapon ever, outside of her trusty, and missing, grenade launcher of course.

When asked on where she had received such a classic styled weapon, or primitive as Nora had called it, Haru had simply said it had been a gift from her dead love and left it at that.

Akira would always be her love, even if he didn't quite return her feelings the way she wanted, even in death. He was her light bringer, her Dawn when her world had become dark, and she would never forget that. Throughout the weeks after her fathers death, Akira had gone above and beyond to send her multiple texts throughout the day, checked up on her during her absence from school and waited for her on the rooftop every day until finally she returned.

While it was true that each member of the Phantom Thieves consoled her during her time of grieving, it was Akira that was able to pierce through the veil and bring her back from the brink of ruin. It started with simple 'Hello, how are you's' every morning, but later evolved into something more, something beautiful that could hardly be expressed through simple text messages or words alone.

Akira confided in her his closest held secrets, admitted his own position within a family that treated him as more of a tool than a person and relinquished information about himself that no other member of the Phantom Thieves could possibly understand. His burning anger towards Haru's previous fiance, Sugimura, had been something Haru took notice of almost immediately after the first time Akira had come across the man.

Looking back on it, Haru realized it was most likely due to how similar her situation had been with the chain of events that led up to his probation, the loss of his position within his families company, the stripping of his rights as a Human and his subsequent shipping to Tokyo in disgrace. It was not a desire to be a knight in shining armor, coming to save the princess that led to his actions towards Sugimura, but something else entirely.

Akira had put himself in Haru's shoes in that moment and found that he couldn't stand to see her placed in the same position he had been, instead directing the orange haired mans aggression towards Akira in an act of martyrdom.

The former Joker, Haru later learned, had been the heir of a major company she had known to be involved in producing medical equipment such as scalpel blades and razors at one point, only to have his position stripped and his name shamed by his mother upon his arrest and subsequent jaunt with probation.

His mother, a woman bearing a similar name to herself, had been far colder in her raising of Akira than even Haru's father, training him from a young age to not only learn to wield a weapon as Haruhime's father taught her, but to push his emotional responses away in turn for cool, logical decision making.

As soon as Akira admitted these things to Haru, she knew he was something special, someone to cherish with all of her heart. Haru found herself admitting small things about herself in return, though soon she found that she had begun to treat Akira like her living journal, unable to stop herself as her darkest secrets finally became known to him.

Haru never admitted these small secrets to anyone, not even Nora or Ren during the six months she spent in their presence.

It was when asked about her goal in life did Haru explain more about Akira to Nora, to help further expound upon why opening a cafe had meant so much to her and just why she had her reservations about attending Beacon along with Ren and Nora.

Now, however, her goals of opening a cafe were moot and sleeping with the sirens. Instead, something else quickly took its place, something she never thought she'd get to experience again.

Now, Haru was going to dedicate herself to repairing Akira and helping him cope with their failure. With Futaba helping her, Haru had little doubts of her chances of success.

 **[PL]**

Qrow tapped the rim of his glass impatiently as he glanced around the bar once more, doing his best to memorize the faces of those around him and compare them to those he knew were wanted criminals within Vale. Finding, for the third time, that there were no people present with active bounties on their head, the corvian warrior turned his attention to his shot of cheap whiskey before downing it and pouring himself another.

Or attempting to pour himself another, rather, as the bottle refused to dispense a liquid it no longer held. Growling beneath his breath and slamming the bottle back onto the table he was sitting at perhaps a tad harder than necessary, Qrow caused the glass to splinter slightly and inflict a small cut upon his forefinger.

"Son of a bitch, I just can't catch a break today," Qrow murmured to himself as he wiped the already healed wound against his pants to remove the blood from the tip of his finger, "Where the hell is she?"

"Patience was never your strong suit, brother," Came the voice of a woman from Qrow's left, causing the corvian man to swivel in his seat to lock eyes with the owner of said voice, "You requested we meet for a... 'serious talk', as you put it, so let's just get to why the hell you've seen fit to contact me when I've told you not to."

Dressed in a shallow cut black and crimson dress with a crimson girdle around her waist, Raven Branwen had hardly changed since the last time her twin brother had last laid eyes upon her. The lines beneath her eyes, however, had grown more pronounced as time started to catch up with the beautiful yet deadly woman, denoting high amounts of stress within her life, much like Qrow's.

As usual, her blade was on her hip and ready for deployment at a moments notice, her left hand resting casually on the weapon as if she weren't threatening each and every person in the bar by doing so.

"Well shit, let's just skip the 'how have you been for the last five years' and get right down to it then," Qrow bit back the harsh response he had intended to deliver first and instead settled on something he considered more diplomatic, "Take the mask off when I'm talking to you at least, will you?"

With a movement of her head that could only have been her rolling her eyes, Raven reached up and removed the heavy mask from her face and set it upon the table before them without speaking further.

Burning crimson eyes stared into a faded pinkish red, the same shade as the person their current meeting revolved around, even if Raven was not yet aware of such things.

"It's good to see you again, Ray... or should I say, _Haruhime?_ " Qrow spoke truthfully at first before a small, knowing grin appeared upon his face moments later, "Isn't that what he called you?"

Raven flinched minutely upon hearing the last words uttered by Qrow, something that her twin caught immediately, no matter how quickly Raven had schooled herself into neutrality once more.

"What are you talking about, you useless drunk? Did you call me all the way here just to play games?" Raven ground out after a moment, her teeth clenched and her lips drawn back into a snarl as she slammed a closed fist into the table the two were sitting at, "I should beat you senseless again and leave you naked in Beacon's fountain again, shouldn't I? Maybe then you'll stop with the stupid nicknames."

It was Qrow's turn to flinch, something that Raven noticed instantly. The smirk that appeared on her face was unbearable, so smug that it was almost a weapon itself.

"That isn't why I've called you, Ray, so let's... just not talk about that," Qrow glanced around the room once more before reaching into his vest and withdrawing a sheet of paper, "I just want to know... why didn't you tell me you had another kid?"

Raven stilled instantly upon registering Qrow's words before her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "You... _how_ could you have possibly found out about that?"

A heavy chill traveled down the spine of Qrow upon seeing the look in Raven's eyes shift from playfully amused to murderous in an instant, the fire in her eyes roaring into an inferno with just a question.

"It's hard to not find out about it when the kid appears in Vale and happens to make friends with the other kid you abandoned, you know." Qrow was pushing it with his patronizing tone, but he felt that the conversation between himself and Raven was not going quite the way he imagined it would.

Why would Raven possibly care if he found out about her having another child? Why would his question instantly set her on edge instead of causing her to respond how he honestly expected?

"That... that's _impossible_ ," Raven all but growled as she reached across the table and snatched the front of Qrow's shirt into her vice-like grip, "My son _died_ , Qrow, _I buried his body personally!"_

"What the hell do you mean _died_ , I just talked to him yesterday," Qrow snarled while smacking his open palm into the crook of her elbow harshly, forcing her to release her grip on his arm before she was pushed back into her chair, "You aren't making any fucking sense right now, Raven, not at all. If you buried him, how the hell is Akira still around, then?"

"Akira? My sons name was _Rook_ , you fool," Raven stood from her position at the table while reaching for her mask, "I don't have time for this, call or text me again and I'll flay you alive before bathing you in salt."

"At least look and tell me if I'm right or wrong first, Ray."

Raven was halted from drawing her blade and opening a portal back to her camp as Qrow unfolded the two pieces of paper in his hand and shoved them in her direction harshly, causing her to growl beneath her breath once more before snatching the offered items from Qrow.

Bringing the first sheet of paper upwards to get a better look at what was printed on the surface of the page, the leader of the Branwen Tribe felt her heart skip a beat before her heart rate skyrocketed. Her eyes appeared to become unfocused as she brought a hand up to trace the image of Akira printed in color upon the page, though Qrow could tell she was studying the picture with barely concealed sorrow.

The two pieces of paper fell from her hands as the appendages began to shake too harshly to maintain her fragile grip upon them, leaving her to slowly turn her empty, crimson orbs towards Qrow once more. " _Where is he?"_

The words that escaped her lips were nothing more than a whisper, leaving Qrow to ask her to repeat herself. "I didn't catch that, do what?"

Raven was in his face once more almost instantly, crossing the distance between them in three long strides. "Where. Is. My. _Rook!_?"

Qrow suddenly found that speaking was beyond him, especially with Raven's telescopic dust blade pressing so harshly into his throat.


	17. Pieces On The Board

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **1**_ _ **7,**_ _ **Pieces On The Board**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _A Semblance is the outward expression of ones soul, correct?_

 _It is due to the fact that Haru and Futaba had an intimate connection with their true self and have stronger souls than normal that their Semblance's are so powerful. It also has something to do with the relationship between Earth and Remnant, which does exist. Not in the way of being the alternate universe created by Nyarly, though, sorry Deck!_

 _Think of it as one world being Introverted, while the other is Extroverted. Two sides to the same coin, with another acting as the barrier between the two faces._

 _The story of Rook Branwen will be expounded upon, no worries my friends! It's sad, but with a slightly happy ending, so..._

 **[PL]**

The meeting between Akira's roommate and Haru had gone about as well as he expected. Blake had been, as almost always, mostly nonplussed when Akira introduced Haru as one of his close comrades and friends from the past, though the twitch of her brow and feline ears spoke of something that Akira dared not broach in their conversation. Her mouthing of 'another one' left Akira confused for a moment until he caught on.

A shrug of the shoulders was the only answer Akira could provide, though he did elaborate a few moments later. "We strays have to stick together."

Blake gave him a rather warm smile at that, a smile that he'd only seen twice before. It was unlike her smarmy smirks or knowing grins in that it conveyed more emotion than the reserved feline was used to expressing.

Haru was as polite as always with her greeting and bowed at the waist in Blake's direction as she introduced herself formally, leaving Blake to take a step back in shock at how sweet Haru's voice sounded. The female Faunus introduced herself in far less of a formal fashion, though she did offer Haru a polite nod and the shake of a hand in return, which Haru was delighted to receive.

Haru showing such respect to Blake had thrown her for a loop for a moment, though she felt she shouldn't have been surprised considering who was introducing the two. Akira had become living proof, time and time again, that Humanity and the Faunus could work together to create something beautiful instead of fighting to enslave one another.

Blake, of course, withdrew into her own little world of books and last minute preparing for her entrance to Beacon and the initiation she was to go through after she and Haru introduced themselves to one another, leaving Akira and his fluffy haired companion to retreat into his room once more.

Considering that Akira now knew of six different people that would be attending the prestigious academy within the next two days, he was confidant that Blake would be in good hands. The only person that Akira knew might cause problems for Blake in the future would be the Schnee heiress, the slim silver haired female that had stopped by Leblanc a few times in the last month, if only due to the upbringing of the Atlesian.

Leaving the black haired Faunus to her dirty little hobbies, considering what Futaba had told her of the contents of Blake's journal, Akira, Futaba and Haru began to catch up the best they could before deciding it was best to save any heavy discussions for a later day.

Akira could be forgiven, thus, for being irritated when his Scroll began to ring just moments after settling into bed with Haru and Futaba curling into his chest, his arms around either of their shoulders as he brought them close.

"Qrow, it's nearly midnight," Akira groaned lowly as he answered his Scroll with nary a thought, sending an apologetic look to Futaba and Haru both as he sat up slightly and snatched the offending item from his nightstand, "Please tell me this is important."

" _You're goddamn right this is important, Akira,"_ Qrow spoke quickly on the other line, loud enough for Akira's two sleeping partners to hear his words, _"Look, I may or may not have informed your... mother about your existence, please just hear me out before you hang up or get pissed."_

"Ohh-kay," Akira agreed with a drawl, pretending to be nonplussed by Qrow's frantic words as he did his best to keep his voice schooled into a neutral tone, "Why should I care? She abandoned me, didn't she? I'd hope she'd be aware of my existence."

Internally, Akira began to realize just how bad it was that Raven Branwen was informed of his existence, especially if Junior and Qrow's reactions relating to the woman were to go by. It was almost obvious to the former Joker that the situation relating to his genetics was going to spiral out of control at this point, especially now that his supposed uncle hoisted his neck to the chopping block.

" _Why should you... okay, I... I guess that response is better than anger, but I don't think you understand just how **bad** I goofed, kid."_ Qrow sighed heavily before continuing his words quicker than before, _"She thought you were dead, apparently, and now she doesn't. She's got her sights on you and it's never, ever good when Raven has her sights on something."_

"That... that is fine, I have nothing to be worried about, then," Akira spoke unsurely at first before his words became more confident, "Though, you'll have to forgive me for being just a _bit_ upset with you at the moment, you understand? Why would you even bring me up with her?"

Somehow, someway, Akira had gotten lucky once more, slightly. His mothers clone had apparently given birth to two children and not just Yang and somehow confused Akira for being hers. It was better than her thinking he _wasn't_ hers, but now he felt the confrontation between himself and the woman named Raven was going to go _far_ differently than he assumed.

He was ready to pretend she didn't exist and had no intentions of seeking her out, but apparently that was no longer an option. Akira sent a weary glance to his left and right at Futaba and Haru respectively before he felt another chill travel down his spine at a sudden thought.

' _This Raven woman was said to be... unsavory, to say the least. She wouldn't use them to get to me, would she?'_

" _I have my reasons, kid, and I think you'd agree if you knew what I kn_ _o_ _w about her,"_ Qrow didn't seem all that bothered by Akira's words, though the teenager could hear at least some shred regret in his words, " _Either way, just... be careful, there is no telling what she's going to do now."_

"Well that settles my nerves," Akira snarked before deciding he had heard enough, "I'll sleep with one eye open, Qrow, thanks for the warning."

" _Considering I'm the one who stirred the hornets nest, you shouldn't be thanking me. Sleep well, kid."_ Qrow hung up seconds later, leaving Akira to pull his Scroll away from his face to stare at it blankly before sliding it closed and setting it back on the nightstand.

"Is everything okay, Akira-kun?" Haru questioned tiredly while reaching up to rub her eyes lightly, "You sound a bit upset."

"It's nothing to worry about, Haru," Akira tried to assure her, only for Futaba and Haru both to give him a flat look, "Okay, I'm actually sort of worried right now, but it will pass, I'm sure."

The sound of something tapping at the window loudly caused Akira to jolt slightly, leaving Futaba to cackle loudly while Haru stifled her giggle quickly in her palm.

"Qrow, I swear to all that is unholy," Akira mumbled beneath his breath as he rose from the large bed shared by the three before making his way to the window, "If that Raven woman is standing on my balcony right now, I'm going to break something."

With his pistol now in hand, having grabbed the weapon as he rose from the bed from beneath his pillow, he braced himself and used the barrel of the weapon to part the blinds. Akira was graced with the sight of a rather large raven pecking at his window steadily, though it seemed to stop and snap its attention to him the moment he moved the blinds.

"What the hell?" Akira questioned unsurely as the corvian bird tapped at his window again, this time aggressively, as if telling him to open up, "I mean, this isn't exactly the Raven I was expecting, but... no, there is no way that woman could turn into a bird, that would be _crazy_. It's just a coincidence, Akira, just a coincidence."

Akira quietly attempted to assure himself that it was just happenstance that a raven popped up at his window the moment Qrow called him to warn him about a woman bearing the same name.

Opening the window slightly, Akira reached beneath the pane and attempted to shoo the raven away, only for the large bird to leap onto his hand the moment he got close and attempt to run up his arm and into his room.

The former Joker didn't quite freak out at the strange actions of the bird, but he was a bit creeped out by the intense look in its eyes as it stared up at him from the crook of his elbow with only a piece of glass separating them, "Girls, are you two seeing this?"

"I think so?" Futaba was the next to get up from the bed and make her way to the window, "It looks like it wants to be your friend, Akira!"

"No, it looks like it wants to eat my face, Futaba." Akira denied quickly as the large bird pecked him lightly at the crook of his arm before pecking at the window once more, "How strange... I've never seen a raven with red eyes before."

"Neither have I," Haru admitted as she, too, came to stand beside Akira as the three crowded around the window to get a better look at the noisy bird, "It's beautiful, just look at those feathers!"

"Hmm, yes, she _is_ a pretty bird, isn't she?" Akira eventually agreed as the raven cocked its head to the side as if attempting to decipher their words, "She seems awfully intelligent, as well. Look at how focused her eyes are."

"She?" Futaba questioned as she lifted the window pane a little bit more, allowing the raven to slip beneath the glass and race up the rest of Akira's arm before coming to a halt at his shoulder, "How can you tell?"

"Call it a gut feeling. Futaba, I don't think letting this bird in was a good idea..." Akira began to sweat slightly as the crimson eyes of the raven peered at him with the same amount of intensity as before, "I'm actually getting a little creeped out right now."

"Pfft, with what we've gone through, being mean mugged by a big bird is hardly scary." Futaba drawled before settling herself back into bed, "Just leave the window cracked, I'm sure she'll leave when she gets bored."

"Yeah, okay," Akira rolled his eyes before coaxing the large bird onto his hand once more and trying to transfer its resting spot to his headboard, "You're cleaning up any mess she makes then, genius. Also, be prepared to have lost something shiny."

"Akira, we _both_ know that isn't happening," Futaba drawled as she pulled Akira back into bed and forcing him back into the space between herself and Haru, "You must be tired, go to sleep."

The frizzy haired teenager shuddered once before glaring lightly at Futaba in response. "You're mistaken if you think you can hold that over my head."

"You two haven't changed at all, have you?" Haru giggled lightly as she curled her head into the crook of Akira's neck once more before sighing softly in content.

Akira once more settled either of his arms around the shoulders of Futaba and Haru as he allowed his heavy eyes to shut, but not before glaring upwards at the baleful eyed raven looming over his laid out form.

' _I'm too tired to deal with you, go away.'_ Akira mouthed at the bird, remaining silent to prevent either of the two resting in his arms from realizing he was talking to the corvian bird in the first place.

While it was normal for him to talk to Morgana in the past, that was only due to the obvious sentience the being wielded like any other Human Akira knew. This bird, however, most likely did not.

Akira couldn't shake the feeling that the corvian bird denoted a change in his life, perhaps for the worse, and decided he would worry about it later, his eyes growing heavier and heavier the longer he thought on the subject.

The large raven didn't leave until dawn broke the skyline, remaining in the same spot as it stared at Akira throughout the night. The frizzy haired teenager was awoken several times throughout the night, the feeling of being watched so closely prickling his sense of danger and stirring him from the Realm of Morpheus.

The former Joker awoke at six and began to gather his things silently as he noticed the bird begin to move towards the window. Watching it fly across the street and then into the distance beyond, Akira knew he would be seeing the raven again in the near future.

 **[PL]**

"So, do you want to tell me _why_ you decided it was a good idea to talk to Raven about me, Qrow?" Akira drawled as he leaned across his bar, giving the slightly sober corvian warrior a tilted brow, "I was content with leaving things as they were."

"I... I just needed to know why she didn't tell me about your birth, why she kept me in the dark about you even existing, let alone your supposed death." Qrow admitted while taking a large drought from the bottle of cold-brew coffee Akira placed before him, "I wasn't expecting her to go super psycho on me and hold a sword to my throat, though, that kinda threw me for a loop."

"She.. what?" Akira was taken aback by the admission, his shoulders tensing up slightly as his eyes darted to the windows to scan the crowds around Leblanc once more, "Why would she do that?"

"She wanted to know where you were, I was eventually forced to tell her. I seriously think she would have stabbed me and left me there if I didn't, plus... I don't know, Akira, this look in her eyes just begged me to tell her." Qrow reached into his pocket and fished out a Lien card to place on the counter, only for Akira to slide it back towards the man while shaking his head in the negative.

"With how often Yang tells me you consume whiskey, this is likely the first drink you've had that wasn't alcoholic in a month." Akira denied the money a second time before placing a second bottle of the cold brew on the counter, "Seriously, keep it, Qrow, I refuse to charge my... family, for food or drink."

"That's preferential treatment," Qrow felt the need to point out, "Isn't that bad for business?"

"Not nearly as bad as you are," Akira shrugged lightly, ignoring the shocked expression that danced across Qrow's face before it was replaced with one of amusement, "Plus, I've already closed for the day, you're the last one here."

"You're pretty funny, kid, I'll give you that," Qrow raised the second glass bottle and popped the cork, causing it to explode upwards to bounce off the roof, hit a piece of metal barring and come down at the perfect angle to hit Akira between the eyes, "But you ain't slick."

Akira reached up and brushed a thumb across the area the cork impacted before glowering at the man, only to be interrupted by his phone going off. Removing his Scroll from his coat pocket, he checked the caller I.D. before flipping it open. "Hold that thought. Hello?"

" _Hey, big bro! Are you busy?"_ Came the voice of Ruby from the other line, causing Akira to relax slightly upon hearing the bubbly voice of the young teenager, _"I was kinda hoping we could hang out for a little while, today's my last free day before Signal starts up and Yang is being mean."_

"Sure, I've got a few hours to spare," Akira agreed after a moment before sending an apologetic look in Qrow's direction, "Where did you want to meet?"

" _I'm heading to From Dust Till Dawn to pick up some extra rounds for my baby if you want to meet up there."_ Ruby supplied helpfully, pausing a moment to speak to someone else before turning her attention back to her Scroll, _"Sorry, almost bumped into someone, I should really pay attention to what I'm doing. I'll be at the Dust shop in a few minutes, so I'll see you when you get here!"_

"You got it, Ruby, see you then." Akira looked up from his Scroll as he slid it shut before shrugging his shoulder at the defeated look on Qrow's face, "We can go fishing tomorrow night while the kids are getting ready for school, no worries."

"Ha, you say that as if you aren't a kid yourself. Alright, Akira, I guess I'll see you tomorrow night then. Take it easy, and try to keep Ruby out of trouble, yeah?" Qrow tapped the counter twice as he rose before leaving the Lien card the two were previously arguing about in his wake.

"You may think you've won this round, but I'm just going to spend this on Ruby now." Akira called out as Qrow slipped through the door and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Akira to walk around the counter to flip the sign to closed and locking the door.

Sighing heavily, the frizzy haired teenager stretched his back by placing his hands on his hips and pressing forward, enjoying the sound of his spine popping multiple times before he allowed his straightened posture to slump. "Ah, that felt great... I really need to train someone to give me massages, I think I developed a physical dependence on Sadayo..."

The only problem with the need of having a masseuse was the fact that he didn't trust anyone enough outside of maybe five people on Remnant to not stick a knife in his back during a moment of vulnerability. While many of his employees seemed to be wonderful people from what Akira could discern during the many times he spent congregating with the twenty five different Faunus and Humans, he still did not know them well enough to lower his guard around them.

Climbing the stairs and waving to Blake lightly as he stepped into the loft area, Akira paused by his door and watched the feline Faunus prepare her many belongings for her trip to Beacon the following day with an almost sad look in his eyes. The former Joker eventually tore his eyes away from her lithe form before knocking on his bedroom door to warn Futaba and Haru that he was entering.

"I'm about to meet up with Ruby for a few hours, is there anything you two need while I'm out?" Akira questioned as he strode towards the closet to retrieve his only other set of clothing that wasn't an expensive suit, "I need to pick up more Gravity Dust for my ammo supply."

"I want some chocolate," Futaba announced while spinning in her seat to face Akira with a wide smile, either arm held up high as if excited to see him, "If that's something you can fit in the budget, that is."

"Of course, Futaba," Akira turned his attention to the fluffy haired axe wielder currently sprawled out in his bed as she typed away on her Scroll, "How about you, Haru?"

"Hmm, something to snack on sounds delightful, Akira-kun. I'll pay, if you'd-" Haru was cut off when Akira raised a hand in her direction with a dull look on his face, causing Haru to giggle at the standard response Akira gave when she offered to pay for anything, "Of course, how could I forget?"

"I'm glad you aren't going to argue like the last time," Akira shot her a bemused expression as he pulled his black jeans, leather coat, black and white prisoners shirt and heavy boots from the closet, "We spent twenty minutes deciding who would pay for the sushi, didn't we?"

"I'm recall it being closer to thirty," Haru tapped her lip in thought before sending Akira a beauteous smile, "Speaking of sushi, do you know of any good shops that sell it around here?"

"No, none like we are used to," Akira suppressed the shudder of disgust as he recalled the last piece of so called sushi he had purchased during his time in Vale, "I'll get us some tuna on the way home and tonight, we feast on the good stuff."

The sound of someone tapping on Akira's bedroom door caused all three to turn their attention to their right.

"Did I just hear someone say tuna?"

 **[PL]**

"So if we remove this pin here and drop the blade two inches, we could add the new sights along the rail and still allow it to collapse into it's firearm mode." Ruby pointed out as Akira pulled the schematics of his weapon up on his Scroll to show the weapon fanatic after the two spent a few minutes going over the newest arrivals to the shop, "The reticles they have for some of the sights are pretty fun, as well, like this smiley face here."

"I think that sounds promising," Akira tapped his chin in thought before turning to address the shop keeper, "How quickly could I have this part delivered, sir?"

"It'll be two weeks before we get another shipment in on weapon parts," The elderly man explained while reaching below the counter to grab one of the standard models of Scrolls used for businesses exclusively, "I require all of my pre-orders to be paid for ahead of time, however, if that's alright sonny."

"That's fine with me, sir," Akira nodded lightly while withdrawing a few Lien cards from the inside of his jacket, "This should cover everything, correct?"

Counting the white cards in Akira's hand, the elderly man nodded moments later before gesturing for Akira to pass the money over before starting to bag up the many stacks of ammunition on the counter into two separate bags, one for Ruby and one for Akira.

"Are you sure you don't want me to pay you back...?" Ruby questioned with a small voice after watching the elderly shop keeper bag up the many boxes of highly volatile ammunition chambered specifically for Crescent Rose, "That is a lot of ammo, big bro..."

"Consider it an investment in my health," Akira glanced at Ruby from the corner of his eyes before flashing her a winning grin, "You're training to be a Huntress, yeah? The more you practice, the better you get and the safer I am."

"Y-yeah, that's right!" Ruby quickly agreed while puffing up her chest, showing a bit of pride in herself as she digested Akira's words, "You technically _do_ depend on us Huntresses for protection, don't you? Don't worry, big bro, I'll keep you safe no matter what!"

"I know you will, Ruby," Akira reached out and placed a hand upon her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze before it fell to his side once more, "Did you want to ride with me to go pick up some tuna real quick? I can swing you by the Bull Stable afterwards so you make it home on time."

"Sure, I'd love to," Ruby accepted the bag of ammunition from the shop keeper while flashing him a bright smile before turning towards the door, only to pause and move towards the back of the shop once more rather quickly, "Hold on, I forgot about the new rifle magazine they released two days ago, let me check the new mods again really quick!"

Akira laughed at the rather one track mind of Ruby before he accepted his own bag and followed her to the back of the store once more, curious about what types of part she could possibly need for the behemoth of a weapon she toted daily. The frizzy haired teenager could be forgiven for being slightly intimidated by the fact that his newest little sister could swing a scythe larger than he was tall as if it weighed nothing, let alone the fact that she continued to add to it as time went on.

He was convinced Ruby was going to create a the worlds first mechashift weapon with over four different forms, especially from what Qrow and Yang mentioned about her workshop back at her fathers house on the island of Patch. As the two began to talk animatedly over the benefits of increasing the caliber of her High Caliber Sniper-Scythe, the doorbell above the entrance of the Dust shop jingled twice, though neither payed attention as they continued to peruse the magazine together.

"How could you possibly want to go bigger than the bmg round?" Akira questioned as he read over the schematics for the marksman rifle-cleaver mechashift weapon being showcased by Fel-Tek, one of the leading weapons production companies out of Mistral, "It says here that the recoil from the nine fifty JDJ shattered three out of five grown mens shoulders after just a single shot _before_ they introduced Dust propellents."

"Yeah, but they aren't as awesome as I am, plus those were untrained civilians without Aura." Ruby pointed out before the sound of the shop keeper beginning to speak loudly drew their attention away from the magazine.

"Please, don't hurt me! J-just take the Lien, I don't want no trouble!" The elderly man held either of his hands in the air as a short crimson blade was waved in his direction courtesy of a man dressed in crimson and black, a familiar ensemble to the frizzy haired Faunus.

Growling lowly upon seeing yet another man attempting to enter the shop, Akira reached into his coat with his right hand while spreading his left arm out wide, taking a step in front of Ruby to minimize her presence while maximizing his own. Drawing upon his Aura and allowing the sluggish energy to circulate through his body, Akira turned to Ruby and whispered lowly to get her attention.

"I need you to relax and pretend nothing is going on, I've got this one," Akira reached back and lowered her Sniper-Scythe as she allowed the large weapon to deploy eagerly, only for her to send Akira a pleading pout in response that he nearly crumbled under, "Seriously, I don't need Qrow or Yang trying to beat me up for letting you stop a robbery while I'm standing right here, please just let me handle this."

"Fine, fine," Ruby sighed after a moment, allowing the tip of Crescent Rose to sink into the ground before gesturing towards the two men, "I'll let you take them this time, even if _I'm_ the one whose supposed to protect _you._ "

"How gracious, I'm most thankful for the courtesy." Akira gave her one last look before taking a few steps forward and from behind one of the large shelves lined with Dust containers, "Well, well, well... what do we have here? I could have sworn I warned Junior what would happen if his men kept causing problems for my friends."

The two men dressed in black and red stiffened upon hearing Akira speak, as did the third man to enter the store upon seeing the frizzy haired Faunus standing near the counter with his weapon drawn.

The first man who entered the shop, the one currently waving his blade in the face of the shop keeper, turned his head slowly until he came nearly face to face with the barrel of Akira's pistol. The tip of the pistol pressed forward and dug into the forehead of the man dressed in the Axe Gang's colors, causing him to gulp audibly before his red blade clattered to the counter.

"We... we don't want no trouble now, chief, didn't see you there." The man spoke slowly, either of his hands rising into the air while the two men currently standing near the door glanced at one another unsurely, "H-how about we put the gun down and talk about this, yeah? I don't have my Aura unlocked, please don't shoot."

Akira clicked his teeth in irritation before pushing the barrel into the mans forehead a bit harsher than before. "You should have thought about that before you came onto _my_ turf and tried robbing one of _my_ friends. How about this... you run them pockets, and I don't leave your thoughts all over this kind mans walls, how's that?"

While the frizzy haired Faunus didn't know the elderly shop keeper from the next stranger in the crowd, that didn't mean Junior's men knew that.

Deciding to press the advantage granted to Akira through their fear of him, most likely thanks to Yang rather than anything done on his part, the frizzy haired teenager fell back into a habit he developed during his year scouring the depths of Mementos, a habit he wasn't quite proud of.

"Run... my pockets?" The man questioned seconds later, his confusion evident as his brows furrowed in response, "I don't understand, what does that even mean?"

"This is a reverse-hold up, you uncultured swine. All of you, step forward and put your wallets on the counter or else my finger might slip, and we all wouldn't want that, would we?" Akira gestured towards the counter with his free hand after pointing to the two men standing by the door, "Go on, chop chop. I don't have all day."

The three men quickly removed their billfolds from their pockets before setting them on the counter before the elderly shop keeper, standing ramrod straight as the leader of a 'rival gang' continued to hold them at gun point before gesturing with his head to the door.

"I'm feeling generous right now, so I'm going to let you three walk out that door and be on your merry way," Akira gestured with his head towards the door, causing the two men without a gun pressed to their heads to relax slightly, "But if I see you around here again, I'm going to beat you senseless, strip you down and leave you tied up in front of the police station as naked as the day you were born. Are we clear?"

As much as Akira would have liked to detain them further, he was not registered within any Huntsmen Academy and thus did not have the legal right to make a citizens arrest, unlike Ruby behind him due to her status as a student at Signal.

He didn't want to involve his newest younger sister, of course, and was forced to make the choice of telling the men to get lost, unaware of the fact that the shopkeeper had already pressed the emergency call button beneath his counter to contact the police or the nearest Huntsmen or Huntress.

"Crystal, boss!" The man with the large pistol pressing into his forehead spoke quickly, wanting nothing more than to put as much space between himself and Akira as possible, "I swear if you let me go, you'll never see me in Vale again!"

"Hmm, we'll see... go on, get!" Akira reached out and shoved the man currently being held up in the chest towards the door, "That's more like it."

Akira had never seen three men run quite as fast as Junior's thugs did the moment it became clear they were dismissed. As they burst through the door and onto the sidewalk outside, however, they were accosted by someone that the former Joker wasn't expecting to see for a few more days at least, causing him to tense slightly when said person snapped their attention into the store moments after detaining the three men with a wave of her riding crop.

"Please tell me you aren't the reason behind the emergency signal I picked up on the police scanner a few minutes ago." Glynda Goodwitch spoke calmly as she strode through the door of From Dust Till Dawn, smacking her riding crop into her palm twice as she spoke.

"Er... this isn't what it looks like," Akira glanced down at the large weapon in his hand and then back to Glynda, his eyes widening slightly upon realizing just where her train of thought was likely to take her, "I swear."

"I think I'll be the judge of that, Mister Kurusu..."

 **[PL]**

"So why are we hiding in the alley again, Neo?" Roman drawled as he stood in the alley between From Dust Till Dawn and the building next to it, his arms crossed over his chest as he waited impatiently for Junior's men to wrap up their robbery, "This defeats the entire purpose of following them here. If we help them, this will go quicker and let us get back to _our_ business."

 _'You didn't see the bike in front of the shop?'_ Neo typed out before flashing her Scroll in Roman's direction, causing him to raise a brow in confusion before nodding his head.

"Yeah, I saw it, but what does that have to do with anything?" Roman tapped the ash from the cigar held firmly in his mouth when he heard the sound of someone crashing through the door of the Dust shop loudly, "That doesn't sound promising, how hard can a simple robbery be?"

Just as the orange haired thief motioned to step from the alley, however, he felt Neo tug at his elbow and yank him backwards just as Glynda Goodwitch rounded the corner and intercepted the fleeing forms of Juniors hired thugs.

 _'That's Akira's bike, Roman, we agreed we wouldn't mess with him.'_ Neo tried him her Scroll once more with a pout on her face, only for Roman to grab her up and start running in the opposite direction and away from the Dust shop, _'You don't have to try and play keep away, I promised I'd behave myself!'_

"This isn't about that, Neo," Roman spoke quickly, his eyes darting left and right quickly before he pushed his Aura to his legs and took a flying leap over the wall at the end of the alley, "That was Glynda Goodwitch, and I don't feel like dealing with her uptight, self righteous attitude tonight."

Neo nodded sagely upon hearing Roman's explanation before sending their new 'boss' a text telling them the job flopped. After checking to make sure that the coast was clear, Roman set Neo down and gestured for her use her Semblance to disguise the two with a motion of his hand, one of the many non-verbal ques developed between the two.

Moments later, a pale elderly man with spiky green hair stepped from the alley on the opposite end of the block they were on with a gray haired, dark skinned female holding his hand to guide him, neither seeing the large raven following them from high above the rooftops with baleful crimson eyes locked onto the back of their heads.


	18. Mind Games

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ __ _ **1**_ _ **8,**_ _ **Word Games**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _Over five hundred reviews, six hundred favorites, close to eight hundred follows and over eighty thousand hits! Jeez, I really wasn't expecting this story to be as well received as it has been, but I can't say I'm not grateful!_

 _Good point, Newtonian, but I have my reasoning for Akira's incredulity and it has to do with the fact that while HE wields Magic, he isn't aware of any other users yet._

 _The scene with Raven was meant to be creepy, because honestly, she IS creepy, both in canon and this story. Wink wink, maybe, or shudder shudder? YOU DECIDE._

 _Sorry, ThatGuyReturns, but we are still a few chapters out before we get to the point to where it would be 'natural' for combat to become the focus. I don't want to rush Akira into busting heads because quite frankly, he has no reason to be looking for a fight right now unless someone happens to mess with his business, considering he is a civilian and not training to be a Huntsman. That will change, though, sooner or later!_

 _Out of all of the many reviews this story has gotten, only one so far has displayed any real displeasure with the route I've taken so far. This is simply marvelous, in my opinion. Thank you all for being so awesome, I don't think I can say that enough._

 **[PL]**

Akira kept his head facing forward as he did his best to remain calm, maintaining a stony facade as Glynda began to speak into her Scroll lowly just a few feet from him. Ruby tapped him on the shoulder and drew him from his reverie, causing him to turn his head in her direction before forcing a small smile onto his face upon seeing the worried shine in her normally bright eyes. "You aren't in trouble, are you?"

"I don't think so, Ruby, no worries," Akira flashed her a thumbs up while laughing lightly to help try and settle her nerves, though the worried look in her eyes didn't disappear like he was hoping, "Seriously, I'm sure that she's about to tell us to be on our way any moment now."

Both Ruby and the elderly shopkeeper had come to his defense after Glynda made it clear she was going to detain him as a suspect, though it did little to stop the Huntress from confiscating his weapon using her Semblance before she began her questioning.

The feline Faunus could be forgiven for having a bit of a sour attitude towards authority figures and despite how well he liked Glynda as a customer, he found in that moment he didn't like her much as someone in a position of power within Vale.

"Forgive me, Mister Kurusu," Glynda pushed her glasses up with the tip of her middle finger before humming lowly, still tapping her riding crop against her palm as she terminated the call on her Scroll, "Due to the nature of this... robbery, I must ask you and Miss Rose here to follow me to the station for further questioning."

Suppressing the desire to curse loudly, Akira instead began to prepare himself for the worst. The three men outside had already been restrained and were being transported away by actual officers of the VPD while Glynda oversaw the entire debacle. Her overseeing his transport did _not_ bode well for him in the least.

"I see..." Akira noted after a moment before turning his attention over his shoulder, smoldering crimson locking briefly with reflective silver before the smaller figure nodded warily, "Very well, lead the way, Miss Goodwitch."

The elder blond suppressed a minute wince as a ring of gold appeared around Akira's pupils, only to disappear just as quickly into a backdrop the color of blood. Ignoring the flaring anger that Akira likely felt beneath the surface, Glynda removed a pair of handcuffs from behind her back, covered from view by her cape, and gestured for Akira to give her his hands.

The flat look he gave her in response caused the blond to sigh before explaining herself further, especially knowing that he was more likely to cooperate willingly if she did so. "This is strictly protocol. You are not being charged with a crime, but you _did_ have your weapon drawn, as did Miss Rose."

"So I'm _not_ in need of legal council, then?" Akira rose a brow in confusion before shaking his head in the negative, "I'm sorry, but I see no reason to allow myself to be detained if I am not being charged with a crime."

"Technically, I _can_ charge you with robbery if you'd like," She gestured towards the counter at the three wallets still resting in the same place their owners deposited them, "Those three outside had quite a lot to say."

"I'm sure they did," Akira agreed with no small amount of amusement shining in his eyes, though he did his best to maintain his cool facade as he stared at the handcuffs in her hand, "Your Semblance is Telekinesis, correct?"

"Very astute of you, Mister Kurusu," Glynda murmured as she hummed beneath her breath before nodding once, understanding his line of questioning without the need for him to continue, "I suppose I can simply use my Semblance to detain you, then, if that is your desire."

"Alri- wait, wait, let me get ready first." Akira quickly spoke as he felt an ethereal force press down on his body at all sides, not harsh enough to harm him but enough to prevent him from escaping.

"Get ready?" Glynda questioned incredulously as she released her hold on the telekinetic grip around Akira, allowing him to shake his coat before settling himself on the ground with an elbow propping his head up.

"There we go, I'm ready for transport." Akira was awfully smug as he looked up at Glynda, waggling his brows at her as she stared at him as if he had grown a second head.

"Are... are you _well_ , Mister Kurusu?" Glynda was forced to ask after a moment of silence, trying to process the position Akira was resting in.

"Never better, why do you ask?" The frizzy haired teenager questioned without missing a beat, causing Ruby to giggle behind him at seeing the carefully blank expression that slowly overtook Glynda's face at his flippancy.

 **[PL]**

"Good evening, Akira," Came the voice of the Headmaster of Beacon Academy as he stepped through the door leading into the interrogation room the frizzy haired teen found himself sequestered away into, "It seems like we have a bit of a... misunderstanding on our hands."

"That is _one_ way of putting it," Akira agreed lightly from his seated position at the metal table within the interrogation room, his expression mostly neutral if not for the twitch of his upper lip as he glanced around, "I have to say, this Kingdom is rather backwards. I prevent a robbery and end up questioned as if nothing more than a criminal, simply despicable."

"From the looks of it, you conducted a little robbery of your own," Ozpin noted with amusement in his tone as he set down the four pieces of paper in his hand onto the surface of the table between the two, "One of the men you relieved of their wallets was going to attempt to press charges, you know."

"Hah," Akira threw his head back and let out a barking, mocking laugh before settling Ozpin with a half-lidded gaze that denoted just how little he cared, "I have a feeling I know which one it was, too. Either way, you said _'was_ ' and not _'is'_ , making it a moot point. Do you know my reasoning behind relieving those men of their wallets, Headmaster?"

"No, I cannot say I do," Ozpin took a sip from the mug in his hands before gesturing towards the set of cups in the corner, "I figured it was simply a case of vigilante justice or something else equally as dubious. Would you like a cup of hot cocoa, Akira?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Akira denied with a raised hand and the shake of his head, "By having them leave their weapons and wallets, I gave police ample enough evidence to lead to the direct arrest of the men in question rather than have them guessing at their identities from a security video. Plus, it's illegal for civilians to detain one another."

"Hmm," Ozpin set his mug down on the table with a light clank before lacing his fingers before his face, his chocolate colored eyes gaining a distant glaze to them as the gray haired man receded into his thoughts for a moment, "There was one thing I noticed that was a little peculiar, but it makes sense now that you've mentioned lacking the legal right to detain the men during the robbery. When Glynda showed me your weapon, I saw that your weapon not only has a safety function, which are incredibly few and far in between, but that it was still engaged. Those men were never in any danger, were they?"

"Not with me being the one conducting the reverse-hold up, anyway," Akira agreed with the downturn of his head before continuing, "Had any more men shown up, however, I likely would have been forced to take aggressive actions rather than resorting to intimidation tactics to prevent any casualty. It's hard to judge how things will play out in situations like that, so..."

"Why not simply allow your... little sister to foil the robbery? She is training to be a Huntress for that very reason, is she not?" Ozpin allowed his gaze to flicker towards the one way mirror once more, affirming Akira's wondering on if that was indeed what the glass was, "This entire situation could have been avoided had you simply allowed a Huntress in training to perform her duties."

Akira forced down the snarl on his face within scant seconds, but his expression had changed into one of anger long enough for Ozpin to catch, causing the Headmaster to lean back slightly as the ring of gold in Akira's eyes faded once more.

' _And there it is...'_

"Ruby is training to be a Huntress to deal with the threat of the _Grimm_ , not the common criminals of Vale. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I allowed a _fifteen year old girl_ to fight my battles for me." Akira took a deep breath before releasing it, doing his best to keep the boiling anger surging to the surface under control, "This continued line of questioning has me second guessing the validity of Miss Goodwitch's earlier assurances. Am I, or am I not being charged with a crime, Headmaster?"

Ozpin leaned back in his head a bit further upon hearing Akira's final statements, humming beneath his breath once more as he glanced over at the one way mirror he knew Glynda and Ruby were watching from.

"No, not tonight... think of this as a formal interview, Akira," Ozpin admitted while picking up his mug and draining a large amount of the liquid in one gulp, "Have you ever considered making a cocoa based drink? I think that would be quite the lucrative market to expand into."

Akira ignored the business advise all together, instead focusing more on the first segment of Ozpin's statement. "A formal interview, Headmaster?"

"Please, I thought I told you to call me Ozpin?" The gray haired man questioned after a moment, causing Akira to sigh as he relaxed a bit further into his chair, "Now, are you absolutely sure there is no way I can convince you to attend Beacon, Akira?"

"You couldn't _pay_ me enough," Akira shook his head immediately, already having been prepared for the mans third offer before it was even made, "Seriously, I have absolutely no desire to become a Huntsman, you're wasting your breath."

"Trying to convince someone I see _real_ potential in to help fight the good fight is _never_ a waste of breath, Akira," Ozpin looked as if he aged nearly a decade as he spoke, his posture becoming lax as his eyes gained a distant glaze once more as he stared Akira down, "Why are you so adamant on wasting away as a civilian? Why let those skills of yours deteriorate and stagnate?"

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about, Ozpin," Akira drawled disinterestedly as he drummed his fingers against the table lightly, appearing to have grown bored with the conversation as his posture relaxed further as Ozpin's had, "I've been a civilian my entire life, and the only skills I have relate to making coffee and cooking curry. Now that you've shown your hand, however, I've got a question of my own."

Ozpin remained silent as Akira's eyes sharpened, slitted crimson eyes cutting through the space between the two in an instant as the frizzy haired teenager affixed the elder man with a glare.

"Your name has reached my ears quite a bit recently, Ozpin," Akira began as he drummed his fingers against the table once more, though this time with more force, "Ranging from when Qrow questioned my lineage to this very moment now. Just how high of a position is Headmaster if it allows you to involve yourself with something as petty as a Dust robbery that was thwarted by another citizen? Are you so bored that such things are what you busy yourself with, or did you take a particular interest in this case due to my involvement? What have I done to warrant such attention from you?"

Ozpin didn't fail to notice how quickly Akira dodged his questions while giving some of his own in turn. Had the man not had thousands of years of experience in wordplay and mental games, he likely wouldn't have noticed at all.

How quickly Akira had guessed at the real reason behind his presence tonight did not escape the Wizard, especially due to how his questions were delivered. If Ozpin attempted to deny his interest, however, he would be called out instantly.

"Those are very concise questions, Akira," Ozpin took another sip of his drink to hide the winning smile on his face, his gut feeling about Akira's intelligence being proven once more by their exchanges, "Glynda mentioned you were observant, I see she wasn't exaggerating."

"You could say it's almost like I have three eyes," Akira shrugged his shoulder before giving the Headmaster a pointed look, "Are we going to be beating around the bush all night, Ozpin?"

"Context clues say you are telling me to get to the point," Ozpin noted after a moment, raising a brow in silent questioning before continuing, "If I cannot convince you to become a student, I am willing to go as far as offering you to become my apprentice instead. This is quite a decision to make, so please sle-"

"No thanks, I'm good," Akira raised a hand to cut the man off before rising from his chair, leaving Ozpin floundering for a moment in disbelief at such a generous offer, in his opinion, being denied so flippantly, "Now, if you don't mind, I've still got a few errands to run before I can turn in for the night, unless you've changed your mind about charging me with a crime that is."

Ozpin allowed his words to die in his throat before shaking his head in the negative, still at a loss at just how quickly Akira denied him again. The Headmaster reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before laughing lowly, finding the entire situation far more amusing than he should have.

"You remind me so much of myself when I was younger, Akira," Ozpin began to speak once more, though this time his voice seemed to hold incredible weight to it, "You know, Ruby showed much more interest in my offer to join Beacon than you are, why is that?"

"How can I even begin to guess her reasoning?" Akira retorted in the same bored fashion as before, forced to retake his position in his seat when it became clear that Ozpin wasn't done with his games, "I suppose it could be due to the fact that becoming a Huntress was her dream while I've never fancied the idea."

"You see, I think it's because she isn't a coward." Ozpin was baiting him purposefully, doing his best to push Akira into a proverbial corner, "While you, on the other hand..."

"You may think what you wish," Akira didn't rise to the bait, instead acting as if the Headmaster hadn't called his courage into question, "I have no desire to sacrifice any more of my time or _friends_ for the sake of strangers. Now, I believe we are done here, Ozpin, I tire of these games."

"Hmm... yes, I believe you are correct," Ozpin eventually agreed after pursing his lips for a moment, "Thank you for cooperating, Akira. I hope this discussion won't reflect in the quality of my morning coffee, will it?"

Akira could tell that Ozpin was really questioning on if he had overstepped his boundaries or not, leaving the frizzy haired teenager to scoff lightly before shaking his head.

"My products will _always_ be the highest quality you can find in Vale, even if I don't particularly like you very much right now. Good evening, Headmaster."

Ozpin remained at the table for quite a few minutes after Akira was escorted away by Glynda, his eyes falling to the police report filed by one Gray Strom some months ago, something he had to stop himself from bringing up for multiple reasons.

 _'I suppose I need to try approaching him from a different angle, then. He doesn't respond well with authority, just like his mother...'_

 **[PL]**

"Big bro!" Ruby cried out as she collided with Akira the moment he stepped through the front doors of the VPD precinct a few blocks from Leblanc, "I was so worried! From the way Headmaster Ozpin was talking, I thought for sure you were going to... to..."

From the way Ruby began to hyperventilate, Akira put two and two together before he acted quickly. Wrapping one arm around the shoulders of Ruby while glancing around wearily, the frizzy haired Faunus did his best to calm the hyperactive bundle of nerves pressing into him. He released her just as quickly as he embraced her, however, to avoid any awkward situations long before they arose.

"No worries, Ruby, just like I said earlier," The former Joker kept his voice light as his eyes once more rose up to scan the crowd, "Ozpin just felt the need to try and recruit me for Beacons roster, again."

Ruby gasped before jumping up and down in excitement, only for Akira to shoot her an apologetic smile and crush her dream before it could form.

"Sorry, but I told him to shove it," Akira didn't feel like doctoring his words at the moment, especially with how much of a foul mood the Headmaster had put him in with the entire debacle, "I've got way too much on my plate right now to just drop everything to go to Beacon."

"But... but..." Ruby began almost pathetically, her wide silver eyes shimmering with unshed tears as she gazed upwards at him, "Headmaster Ozpin said he was confident he could convince you..."

"Hah, he wishes," Akira shook his head in the negative as he glanced up for the third time, only to see Yang's bike come sliding around the corner and come to a rest just feet from Ruby and Akira's position on the sidewalk, "Well I suppose that's one way to make an entrance. Did you call her, or..."

"It was me," Ruby admitted quickly, once more scuffing the pavement with her boots almost shyly, "IthoughtyouweregoingtogetlockedupandIwasreallyworried-"

"Breath," Akira raised a finger to Ruby's lip to silence her once more, having recalled doing something similar just a few days prior, "We need oxygen to survive, Ruby."

Blushing lightly, Ruby licked his finger in the same fashion she did the first time to get Akira to remove it from her lips, causing Akira to withdraw his hand before reaching out to wipe said finger upon Ruby's cloak.

"Hey!" Ruby tried to squirm out of his reach but proved too slow without her Semblance, "Quit, that's gross!"

"Quit licking peoples fingers then, Ruby." Akira deadpanned before turning his attention to the strangely quiet blond as she removed her helmet, stood from her bike and made her way to Ruby and Akira's position.

Just as Akira opened his mouth to greet her, however, he was interrupted by Yang delivering a solid jab to his stomach, nearly doubling him over her fist due to being unprepared for the blow.

"That was for worrying me... Ruby called me freaking out, leaving me thinking I was going to have to bail my little bro out of jail..." Yang murmured into Akira's ear as she leaned over at the same time he lurched forward, her plump lips not even millimeters from his human ears as she spoke, "She also told me that you only got in trouble because you wouldn't let her stop a robbery..."

Grabbing his chin and lifting his head lightly, Yang placed a searing kiss on Akira's cheek before taking a step back, leaving him to regain his breath and compose himself from the heavy blow to his stomach.

"Did you _have_ to hit me, Yang?" Akira questioned after a moment, a strained smile appearing on his face as he digested the real reasoning behind the blow to his stomach, "I mean, I thought girls only beat up on guys they _liked,_ plus that kiss..."

Akira was only teasing her, of course, only to realize afterwards that perhaps he shouldn't have considering the circumstances around recent discoveries.

' _Way to sound like a creep, Akira, this is someone who thinks you're literally related. I've got to stop flirting with everyone, I'm going to get myself in trouble at this rate.'_

Bad habits were rather hard to correct, however, leaving Akira to doubt his own ability to cease his flirtatiousness in the future.

Yang gave him a cocky grin and crossed her arms over her chest before popping her hips lightly and resting her weigh on her right leg. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? Want big sis to take care of you, A-Ki-Ra?"

If Akira was bothered by the way his name rolled off her tongue, he didn't show it. Instead, he composed himself while straightening his leather coat once more and reaffirming his weapons position beneath his left arm.

"From the looks of things, I think I'd be the one taking care of _you_ , _big sis._ " Akira leaned forward and placed his mouth just as close to her ear as she had his before he slipped passed both Yang and Ruby before waving over his shoulder, "Sorry, but I'm running behind schedule now, talk to you two tomorrow I'm sure."

Akira didn't bother glancing over his shoulder, but if he had, he would have seen the conflicted look on Yang's face as Ruby rapidly looked from Akira to her older sister in confusion.

"So if I want to show Akira I like him, I need to... beat him up? How does that show anyone you like them?"

"Just... it's nothing, Ruby, I'll tell you later." Yang shot her little sister a strained smile as she did her best to ignore the tingling feeling that traveled from the tip of her head to her toes, watching Akira's form disappear around the corner from her peripherals.

 _'Way to go Yang, you officially sound and look like a creep. No wonder Uncle Qrow can't look me in the eyes...'_

 **[PL]**

"You've got to be kidding me..." Qrow breathed heavily as the person on the other line finished speaking, his Scroll held to his face with hardly any strength, "Oz, I thought we agreed that we'd try to bring him in _slowly_!"

" _I saw an opportunity and took it,"_ Came the voice on the other end of the line, completely unapologetic from the tone the Headmaster took, " _I was not expecting him to be so vehement in not wanting to become a Huntsman, though."_

"Yeah, but with you having me inform Raven of our knowledge of his existence... You are trying to get her back on our side, aren't you?" Qrow finally began to piece together just why Ozpin was acting in the way he was, having only seen a man become as active as he was when something truly important caught his attention, "Does this have to do with the Queen, then?"

" _... You are correct, Qrow,"_ Ozpin admitted with a sigh, his voice losing the assured tone it once held, " _We have no idea who it was that attacked Amber, or just where the Usurper is hiding. If my theory on Raven is correct, I'd rather have her at least neutral towards us rather than antagonistic."_

"I still think including her in _anything_ is going to be a disaster, especially with how she was acting last night," Qrow grabbed the shot glass on the table before him and downed it quickly, only growling at the taste for a split second before continuing, "So I take it you were at least able to talk to Ruby like I asked?"

" _Of course, her being with Akira when the robbery happened allowed me to take care of her invitation without needing to make a special trip to Patch_ ," Ozpin seemed distracted as he spoke, further expounded when the sound of tapping keys filled the other line, _"She seemed... excitable, and loyal. Ruby is going to make a fantastic Huntress one day, I have high hopes for her."_

"Yeah, she's my pride and joy," Qrow whispered almost wistfully before shaking his head to clear the melancholy that threatened to overcome him as his mind was drawn back to Ruby's mother, "Well, I think that's about all I needed to know, thanks Oz."

The two hung up moments later, leaving Qrow to pour himself another drink as he leaned back further into his chair, his faded red eyes looking far past whatever objects rested before him.

"So, back again, Ray? I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon, don't you have a son to stalk?"

"Cut the shit, _Qrow._ You tell Ozpin that if he continues to try and involve Rook in his little games, I'm going to personally make each of his following lives a nightmare after killing him myself."

It was at that point that Qrow reached for his weapon, only to tense upon realizing Raven was no longer standing behind him, her presence gone with nary a trace.

" _She's gotten better..."_ Qrow whispered to himself while glancing down at his weapon, a Scythe-Sword named Harbinger, "I think it's about time I start training again... I have a feeling I'll need it in the future."


	19. Bittersweet

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ __ _ **1**_ _ **9,**_ _ **Bittersweet**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _I'm hoping that we can get into perhaps a bit more juicy section of the storyline that involves cracking heads and taking names now that we've caught up with the beginning of the series._

 _Also, I've decided to create a Discord after fumbling around with another authors group chat, if anyone would like to join. PM me for an invite, of course, because I don't want to leave it open for everyone and their dogs._

 _There is something called the butterfly effect, Qrow, something that I use in all of my stories. There are reasons behind Ozpin's interest in Ruby and it lies behind her lineage._

 _Flap, flap, flap..._

 **[PL]**

Akira had returned home almost two hours behind schedule, though his roommates hardly seemed to mind when he revealed the large amount of fish he procured from the market for their sushi feast.

"This, my friends, is a _perfect_ slab of tuna," Akira decided he would start off his long tale with the food before explaining just why it took as long as it had to actually get the fish, "Nearly crimson and close enough to a Kihada that it may as well be from home."

"Kihada?" Blake questioned after schooling her expression from one of hunger to that of interest, "Is that a special type of tuna? Where are they most common?"

It was a loaded question that Blake posed, one that she saw the perfect opportunity to slip in while Akira seemed distracted. Most of the time, he mentioned having wandered Anima most of his life when questioned on his past, but sometimes he would mention specifics that allowed Blake to get a better idea on where he was from.

Anima was a rather large continent, after all, and Blake knew for a fact he was born outside the kingdom of Mistral, but that was all she knew and that bothered her.

"You'd find them on the north western coast of Anima, far and away from any form of civilization now," Akira chose the least populated section of Anima, as well as the least documented, for the location of his previous homes as far as his 'history' went, "A coastal town I've visited in the past once had the best tuna I've ever had in my life, shrimp too. I'd give an arm and a leg to go back to Hawaii, just for one day..."

Akira did his best not to lose himself in the memories as he thought of the foreign state he visited with the rest of his class from Shujin, though it was difficult not to lose himself in his reverie. Haru, too, gained a distant look in her eyes as she heard the name of the former island nation turned state, likely for the same reason as Akira.

"Yeah, I missed out on that..." Futaba murmured thoughtfully before poking Akira in the face twice, stopping the thoughts of his past from whisking his attention away, "Hey, don't think I still don't want to know why your two hours late! You didn't even take your microphone this time!"

"Well, I... almost got arrested, but everything's cool now," Akira tried to play it off casually, but the look the three females leveled him with nearly caused him to break out in a sweat, "Seriously, it was just a misunderstanding. Some of Junior's thugs tried to rob From Dust Till Dawn while Ruby and I were looking at weapon mods and I put an end to it."

"Something tells me there is _way_ more to it," Futaba noted while leaning back and crossing her arms, orange tresses falling into mauve eyes as she stared him down, "You are notorious for downplaying things, Akira, just give it to us straight."

"Hm," Akira hummed beneath his breath as he grabbed the bag of short-grain rice to begin steaming it for their sushi feast, "Ozpin decided he would use the opportunity to try and coerce me into joining Beacon after having done the same with Ruby. The man certainly seems to be getting around in involving himself with my affairs."

The last segment of his sentence was more aimed towards himself than the others, though they still picked up on his phrasing none the less.

"You didn't accept, of course," Blake noted lightly as she observed Akira's posture, already having known that the Headmaster of Beacon had attempted to recruit him at least once in the past, "He let you walk away without pushing it?"

Akira nodded lightly, though he pursed his lips in thought afterwards as he turned back to observe the three, "It would have been a waste of both of our time had he continued to push. Enough of the Headmaster, let's talk about dinner instead, because I need to know what you all would like before I start cutting into the meat."

Once more, the frizzy haired teenager proved how skilled he was in changing the subject, as any thoughts of his near arrest disappeared like dust in the wind when he began to cut into the fish to divvy it up for the different types of sushi he knew how to make.

Blake had been the first to turn in for the night, climbing the stairs while holding her stomach lightly with her left hand. The content smile on her face was worth the price he paid for the fish she enjoyed so much, in Akira's opinion.

" _Something you mentioned earlier this week has me a bit confused still,_ " Haru stated after a few moments of comfortable silence, though she had returned to speaking Japanese to help further hinder Blake from overhearing their conversation, " _This Raven woman shares not only your own mothers appearance, but her genetic sequencing as well?"_

" _Correct,"_ Akira agreed with a nod, though the wariness in his eyes denoted his inner turmoil relating to the Branwen family, " _I am in the dark on just how it's possible but I have no reason to doubt an official study of my genetic sequencing. I can't say I'm looking forward to meeting the woman, either, if Qrow is to be believed about her character."_

" _Forgive me, I still find it hard to believe that your... DNA actually matches hers,"_ Haru tilted her head to the right, " _What did you say earlier, Futaba-chan? That we've found ourselves in a parallel reality?"_

" _That's the idea at the moment,_ " Futaba nodded while setting down her own chopsticks, her usually smug expression becoming more serious as her brows furrowed, _"There are just too many similarities between Earth and Remnant to be a coincidence, **way** too many. For just as many constants, though, there are twice as many variables, so it's probably a bit more accurate to call this an alternate reality instead."_

" _I see... and somehow, Akira-kun here had a counterpart? Does that mean there are... different versions of you and I walking around?"_ Haru seemed a bit taken aback by the sudden thought that came to her, " _I cannot be the only one to find this world strange, I suppose is the safest word to use?"_

" _You can say that again,"_ Akira murmured thoughtfully as he picked up his glass of water and brought it to eye-level, " _I'm not sure I would have preferred the alternative, however..."_

There was another pause of silence between the three as they began to eat once more, each with a thoughtful look on their faces as they ruminated on different things. The possibility of duplicates or alternate versions of themselves walking around certainly hadn't crossed their minds until Qrow revealed that Raven indeed thought Akira was her child.

" _Haru, you mentioned that you have a Semblance that allows you to control plants, yes?"_ Akira questioned after taking a draught of his water, _"What exactly does that entail, if you don't mind me asking?"_

" _There isn't a thing you could ask me that I wouldn't tell you, Akira-kun,"_ Haru made it clear instantly that Akira didn't have to worry about such things, _"It's hard to explain, but it's... like I share the same connection with the plant life around me, almost like I do with my arms or legs. With just a thought, I can make them bend, grow and mutate, all with a cost of Aura, of course."_

To demonstrate, Haru held a hand towards the yellow flower at the end of the counter and then drew her fingers towards her hand lazily before clasping it closed. Following the movements of her fingers, the yellow flower began to grow at the base, thickening and darkening from green to a darker shade that bordered on black. Just as quickly as the stem of the flower began to thicken and darken, pale pink, almost translucent blossoms began to sprout at random intervals while the leaves started to split and grow as well.

Soon, the innocent, yellow flower that Akira had taken care of for months had been transformed into what may as well have been a night light, especially with how brightly the pale pink flowers dotting the still growing plant were glowing. Futaba and Akira both glanced at one another in shock upon seeing just how much control over plant-life that Haru's Semblance gave her, neither quite prepared for the display they were seeing.

Akira was expecting her to have the ability to strengthen plants or maybe even grow them faster, not literal control as she was displaying. When long, vine line tresses sprouted from the flower and began to wrap around the base of the flower pot and climb the wooden beam near the counter towards the ceiling, Akira posed a silent question towards Haru with a tilted brow.

" _The more plant-life around me, the safer I feel,_ " Haru explained before ceasing the flow of Aura between herself and the now thoroughly transformed flower at the corner of the counter, " _I can change it back, if you'd like._ "

" _No, this is fine,_ " Akira stood from his spot and drew closer to the plant, watching carefully as more and more blooms began to sprout the moment Haru reapplied her Aura to shift the plant further, " _Are you limited to plants that have already sprouted, or can you apply this to seeds as well?"_

The vines that sprouted from the plant twisted upon themselves and traced upwards, only to start spreading out along the rafters and hanging down just above the heads of Akira, Futaba and Haru. Small, dazzling purple flowers with pink star-burst designs along the center began to bloom along the edges of the thin vines just as translucent as the flowers near the base, leaving the pleasant scent of flora to mix with the lingering aroma of coffee hanging around the cafe like a thick fog.

" _I haven't actually tried to grow a plant directly from seeds yet,"_ Haru seemed almost shocked at the thought before a bright smile appeared on her face, " _We could start our garden again, Akira-kun!"_

Akira nodded almost instantly in agreement, though he didn't take his eyes from the display of what may have been considered Magic to him at one point, " _I'd like that, Haru._ "

" _Speaking of Aura and Semblances,_ " Futaba spoke up as she finished her last bite of sushi before washing it down with a swig of water, " _Have you figured out yours yet, Akira?"_

" _I... don't think so, no,"_ Akira denied, a frown appearing on his face before it was wiped away just as quickly, " _Why do you ask?"_

" _It's just... well, you still have your Persona, right?"_ Futaba set her chopsticks down before lazily stretching her arms above her head, " _Like, all of them?"_

" _I was only ever able to carry a dozen at a time, otherwise Igor would-"_ Akira stopped himself short upon realizing he could actually speak the long-nosed mans name, " _Igor... why hasn't he..."_

" _Akira-kun? You're shaking..."_ Haru stopped focusing on spreading the growth of her vines and now glowing flowers, instead focusing on the shaking hands of Akira almost instantly, " _Who was Igor? I've never heard you mention his name before."_

" _It's nothing,"_ Akira took a deep breath before shaking his head to clear the treasonous thoughts that sprung up upon thinking of Igor and the Velvet Room, " _I only have six Persona on me, I believe. It's been so long since I've changed between them that I don't remember."_

" _Which ones can you remember off the top of your head?"_ Futaba shared a concerned look with Haru for scant moments before continuing where she left off, " _I remember you mentioning Kaguya, and I know for a fact you never got rid of Arsene, but... like you said, it's been a long time."_

" _Kaguya, Arsene, Yoshitsune... Lucifer?"_ Akira tapped his lip in thought, focusing on recalling what few Persona he kept in his arsenal during the Phantom Thieves dive into Mementos, " _Kohryu and... there was one I remember picking up in Mementos that I wanted to get rid of, what was it...?"_

Futaba and Haru both gained a thoughtful look as they tried to recall the few hours the team of eight spent scouring the depths of Tokyo's Palace, only for Akira to groan lowly before clutching his head in shame.

" _Ugh, of all the... Mara. It was Mara."_

Futaba burst out cackling at once while Haru held a dainty hand over her mouth to cover her small gasp of 'oh my'.

" _Figures..._ " Akira began tracing his index finger in lazy circles upon the tables surface as he watched the glowing flowers above him flicker and fade against the linoleum surface, " _Now I have to live with a giant phallus demon in my head for the rest of my life._ "

" _So besides the giant... monster on wheels, can you try switching to a different Persona than Kaguya? I want to test a theory,"_ Futaba stood from her spot at the table and walked around until she was standing just behind Akira, " _Whenever you're ready."_

Akira hadn't quite agreed to try, but he found no harm in testing her theory, whatever it may be. Pulling deeply upon the connection he shared with the Persona dwelling within him, Akira allowed the link between himself and Kaguya to fade to almost nothing. The moment the connection had been broken, however, Akira felt a shift in his body that he couldn't quite explain, almost as if his Mana became more sluggish and harder to wield.

Taking a moment to choose between the six links he felt deep within himself, Akira eventually grasped the darkest, and strongest, connection and pulled forth Arsene from the depths of his soul.

Once more, Akira felt a shift occur in his body, this time revolving around his physical body and not the ethereal energy within him. Almost immediately upon calling upon Arsene, he felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, leaving him almost as light as a feather as a result.

The changes seemed to go beyond just his body and Mana, however, especially when Akira had to force down the almost malevolent grin that attempted to tilt his lips upwards.

" _Alright, I've switched to Arsene... now what?"_ Akira questioned while rolling his shoulders, already forming theories on just how his ability to wield Mana seemed to decline just as he switched Persona, " _How strange, I feel almost fifty pounds lighter, but my Aura and Mana both feel so sluggish now."_

" _Hm.. That was what I was wondering, actually,"_ Futaba watched him closely as he drew a deep breath and stretched his arms above his head, " _There's a correlation between your Persona and your abilities, obviously, but I was thinking... since your Persona are reflections of your inner self, does each Persona have a different Semblance associated with it?"_

Akira felt his brows shoot into his hairline as he thought about the question posed by Futaba, having not thought about the possibility before due to how impossible it actually sounded.

" _I_ _'m not sure... maybe?_ " Akira questioned more than stated as he attempted to draw his Aura forth, struggling for a moment before the crimson light he associated with his newest energy came rushing to the surface, " _I have no idea how I'd go about finding_ _ **one**_ _Semblance, let alone six..._ "

Haru hummed thoughtfully as she stood and began to walk around Akira and Futaba slowly, keeping her soft brown eyes locked on Akira's form as he pulled on his internal energy. _"Astarte was a Goddess of fertility, and my Semblance is mostly related to her domain... I think your Semblance, or Semblances, will be related to your Persona like mine is, maybe?"_

" _That's as good a theory as any,_ " Akira began to break down what he knew about Arsene in his head ranging from his legend down to the abilities Akira wielded when calling upon the Persona, though nothing quite concrete came to mind, " _The only idea I have right now would be related to... invisibility? Perhaps intangibility?"_

" _Well, it's a start,"_ Futaba acknowledged with a small frown as she pushed on Akira's shoulder lightly as he continued to cycle his Aura, " _How would we test it, though? How did you discover yours, Haru?"_

The conversation between the three continued for another hour before one by one, the former members of the Phantom Thieves began to feel their eyes droop. By the time Akira crawled into bed between Haru and Futaba, many different theories had been tossed around before being scrapped almost as quickly as they were written down.

With drooping eyes, Akira mindlessly stared upwards at the ceiling until he felt his consciousness finally slip away into the realm of sleep.

 **[PL]**

The following morning was a whirlwind of activity as Blake, Akira and Haru each set out from Leblanc as the clock struck ten, the closed sign still hanging in the window as they left. Five minutes into the walk towards the eastern Bull Pin, Haru split from the two Faunus to make her way to the hotel Ren and Nora were still staying at to walk her two newest friends to the same location Akira was escorting Blake, leaving the two to walk alone.

"Thank you for walking with me, Akira," Blake began after a few moments of silence between the two, her voice smaller than usual, "It means a lot to me."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world, Blake," Akira admitted with a small smile, tilting his head to glance at her from the corner of his eyes, "Days like this only come once in a lifetime, you know."

Blake pursed her lips lightly in thought before nodding shallowly, not trusting herself to speak again and not give away the strange sadness that had befallen her. The further the two walked, the worse Blake's mood became and she couldn't quite put her finger on why. The longer she thought on the subject, however, the clearer her reasoning behind not wanting to leave became.

She felt like she was leaving home again, just like the first time she sailed away from Menagerie to join the White Fang, the same organization founded by her father and mother many years prior to her birth. Blake had already known that she was developing feelings for her fellow Faunus, but she never quite seemed to grasp just how used to his presence she had become until it was almost time for her to leave him behind to pursue her goals.

Blake didn't notice the tear rolling down her cheek until Akira reached out to brush it away, causing her to lurch almost violently away from his hand in shock. Akira, too, took a step away to create more space between them upon seeing Blake react so strongly to his wiping of her tear, causing him to give her a sheepish smile as he brought a hand up to scratch the back of his head.

"Sorry, I just... acted without thinking," Akira reached up and scratched his cheek lightly with his index finger while giving her a small, disarming smile, "I apologize, perhaps I should have said something first. Are you alright, Blake?"

"It's fine," Blake quickly tried to reassure him while closing the small gap between the two created by Akira, "I was just... thinking, is all."

Akira nodded after a moment, his crimson eyes locking with her amber orbs for scant seconds before flicking forward once more. Blake couldn't help but feel he had seen right through her in that moment, especially not with how sharp the glint of his eyes had become. It was gone just as fast as it came, though, leaving her to second guess herself after trying to rationalize how deep Akira's gaze seemed to be in that one moment.

An ocean of fire awaited her deep within his eyes, though the dancing flames hardly seemed to leave her burned as they washed over her. Instead, a deep warmth suffused through her body, leaving her feeling more content than before, almost fulfilled.

Another silence fell between the two as they continued to walk until finally, they came to the large station fitted to allow air transport to pick up and drop off their loads. Quite a few students were congregating outside the Bull Pin gates, though none that Akira recognized save maybe one or two that had stopped by Leblanc once before.

"Well, this is it..." Blake turned to face him fully as she finished scanning the crowd for potential problems and finding none, "Like I said, thanks for walking me, Akira."

"And like I said, I wouldn't miss this if you tried to make me." The teenage shop owner pointed out before reaching into his pocket, "Here, before I forget..."

Blake tilted her head to the right as Akira reached into his inner suit pocket before he withdrew something that nearly made her gasp in shock. A solid black ring box rested in his hand, one that was already opened to reveal its contents to her.

Resting upon the cushion within the expensive looking hard case was what appeared to be a pin in the shape of a lizard from what Blake could tell.

While it wasn't quite what she was expecting upon seeing the hard case in his hand, Blake felt her breath get stolen away upon seeing the jewels used to decorate the pin regardless. The eyes of the small lizard seemed to be embedded with rubies while small green emeralds made up the body of the reptile. A different type of green stone was used to color the stomach of the lizard, a pale green jade that bordered on white.

"W-what's this, Akira?" Blake stammered after a moment, her face bleeding scarlet upon realizing just what it looked like Akira was doing. _'No way, there is_ _ **no**_ _way...'_

"This, Blake, is a gecko," Akira pulled the small pin from it's case and replaced the box in his pocket before taking another step forward to close the distance between the two, "An animal and symbol that is very, _very_ important to me. It symbolizes family and protection, two things no woman should ever leave home without..."

Blake felt her left hand come to her mouth almost involuntary as Akira reached forward to grab at her vest before securing the golden jeweled pin to the white fabric. He didn't step back out of her personal space afterwards, though, and instead took another step forward, bringing Blake to glance upwards into his eyes once more.

"No matter what happens in the future, Blake, and no matter where life takes you... I'll always have your back, through thick and thin," Akira began, his voice thick with emotion as he did his best to explain to Blake just how much she had come to mean to him, "If you ever decide that being a Huntress isn't cutting it, home is but a call away."

The female Faunus once more felt tears well up in her eyes, though not due to any amount of sadness. Instead, Blake couldn't help but feel moved by Akira's words and proceeded to ignore the logical side of her mind. Closing the distance between the two Faunus in a single step, Blake threw her arms around Akira's shoulders before pulling him into a tight hug, something that almost threw him for a loop.

Crying softly into his chest, Blake couldn't help but sniffle and laugh at just how cheesy Akira's words had been after playing them back in her head once more. "You are making this harder than it needs to be..."

"Sorry, sorry..." Akira murmured softly as one arm came to rest around her shoulder while his free hand was placed on the back of her head, "I'm trying my best to get you to stay, is it working?"

Blake laughed despite her tears, though it came out as more of a sob as she clutched at Akira's body harder than before with one last squeeze before releasing her hold upon him.

"A bit too well, honestly," Blake admitted with a fond smile, either of her hands still placed upon his arms as he slowly removed his own from around her, "Keep trying, just to be sure."

"Awww, I want a hug too, big bro!" Came a soft whine from behind Akira, causing the frizzy haired teenager to sigh softly and glance over his shoulder at the familiar figure of Ruby Rose as she and Yang sauntered towards the two Faunus, "Save one for me!"

Well, Yang sauntered, Ruby bolted.

"Of course, Ruby," Akira acknowledged as he removed his arms from around Blake, doing his best to ignore the feeling of sadness that came with releasing her from one of the very few embraces the two have shared, "There are plenty of hugs where that came from, no worries."

"Awe-some~!" Ruby sang out as her body collided with his from behind, nearly knocking the two forward into Blake once more from the force, "I didn't expect to see you here, change your mind at the last second? Please say yes, please say ye-!"

"No, not quite," The former Joker shook his head in the negative before reaching down and patting the two hands wrapped securely around his stomach lightly as a way to return the embrace, "I'm sorry, Ruby, I'm just not cut out for that type of life."

"Awww," Ruby whined yet again in disappointment as she buried her face in Akira's jacket from behind, "There isn't anything I can do to change your mind, is there?"

"Nope," Akira drawled before reaching around and pulling Ruby along until he hoisted her up and pulled her into his chest for a proper hug, "I think there is a higher chance of the sun exploding at this point."

Akira set Ruby down a few moments later, causing the short redhead to pout sadly and scuff her feet against the pavement while mumbling something under her breath. "I was just getting comfortable, too..."

"What, you can give them hugs, but not me?" Yang questioned sarcastically as she opened her arms in the universal request for permission to hug, leaving Akira to roll his eyes before stepping away from Ruby and closer to Yang, "Yeah, that's what I thought, little bro, come to big sis!"

Blake did her best to ignore the pang of emotion that overcame her as she watched Akira be embraced by someone she knew she had no reason to be jealous over. Ruby was one thing, especially when Akira obviously treated her like a little sister, but something about the way Yang interacted with Akira bothered her and she couldn't put her finger on it.

It was at that moment that Blake realized something about herself, something she did her best to minimize or mitigate completely. She was _jealous_ of Yang, the _sibling_ of the person she could no longer deny having feelings towards.

Pursing her lips and crossing her arms, Blake did her best to ignore the strange stranglehold of emotional turmoil that gripped at her stomach as she watched Akira lean his head on the blonds shoulder just as she had his. The two seemed to have a quiet conversation between themselves in that moment, each murmuring far too lowly for her to overhear, though it hardly lasted a few seconds before each pulled away.

"Thanks for not... you know." Yang eventually stated just loud enough for those around her to hear as she pulled away from the tight embrace shared between herself and Akira, "I mean, I wouldn't have blamed you if you..."

"No worries, Yang, I get it," Akira gave her a thumbs up to try and reaffirm his statement as he pulled away from her arms, "I have the same problem, like I said. It will just take... a lot of time, I suppose."

"Yeah... time..." Yang laughed lightly as her eyes glazed over slightly in thought before she was snapped from her reverie by Ruby shoving her lightly, "Hey, what gives?"

"No secrets between siblings, what were you two just whispering about?!" Ruby stomped her foot to display her false sense of anger, a severe pout on her face all the while, "Well, I'm waiting!"

Just as Akira pulled away from Yang's embrace, he noticed a rather tall redhead shuffling her weight from one foot to the other as she awkwardly stood a few feet away from the group surrounding him. Pyrrha flashed him a small smile and a nervous wave of the hand just as their eyes met, leaving Akira to return her smile and nod in greeting.

It was only a joke when Akira offered her a hug as well considering he just finished giving out three of them, leaving him to nearly fumble when her eyes lit up and she spread her arms out almost eagerly in response.

"Hello again, Akira," Pyrrha greeted as she took a step forward and pulled him into a rather tight hug for how little time the two had known each other, resting her chin upon his head as she did so due to the height difference between the two, "Are you going to Beacon as well?"

Akira felt a pang of guilt upon hearing the hope in her voice, especially when he had to crush that hope just as quickly as it formed when he shook his head in the negative.

"Sorry, Pyrrha, I'm just here to see Blake, Ruby and Yang off," Akira began slowly as he pulled away from the tall hoplite's strong arms, "Like I told Ruby, I don't think I'm cut out for what you ladies do for a living."

"Ah, what a shame," Pyrrha bemused as she too pulled away, her smile a bit smaller but still present none the less, "Forgive me, I just hoped to see a familiar face..."

"There is nothing to forgive, Pyrrha," Akira gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder before gesturing towards the three others standing with him, "Pyrrha, this is Yang Xiao Long, my... older sister, Ruby Rose, my littlest sister and Blake Belladonna, my now former employee and close friend. Girls, this is Pyrrha, one of my favorite customers. Please be nice to her, she's shy."

The blush on Pyrrha's face nearly matched her hair and garb in shade as she floundered for a moment before schooling her expression and waving cheerfully. "Hello, it's nice to meet you! I had no idea Akira had siblings!"

Blake recognized who Pyrrha was almost instantly, though she kept her mouth shut as far as expressing just how surprised she was that Akira knew someone famous, let alone someone as awkwardly beautiful as the crimson garbed hoplite. Once more the feline Faunus was floored with just how many females seemed to flock to Akira like moths to the flame, not to mention the fact that Akira treated it as if it were completely normal.

There was nothing normal about Akira, Blake soon realized, or the calming presence that usually surrounded him. Today seemed to be different, though she couldn't quite put her finger on just what had changed with her frizzy haired former boss.

Just as quickly as Blake recognized the four time tournament champion, so too did Ruby recognize one of her favorite cereal mascots, immediately gushing over how much she adored Pumpkin Pete's marshmallow flakes while Yang instead settled on an almost forced nod and smile.

"Akira-kun, Blake-chan!" Another voice called out in greeting, one that Akira had been waiting for patiently, "I've come bearing friends!"

"The more the merrier, Haru," Akira greeted with a wave as the fluffy haired former thief and her two traveling companions came to a halt with the rest of those standing around Akira, "We have enough people here to conquer a small village."

"Oh, OH! That sounds like fun, when do we leave?!" Nora questioned excitedly upon hearing the sarcastic quip of Akira, "Wait, we can't, we have school..."

The orange haired teenager looked disappointed for a moment before she snapped out of it almost instantly, leaving Akira with whiplash from just seeing how quickly her mood shifted.

"That's okay, we can conquer the first village we get sent on a mission to! Don't worry, Big Boss, we got this!"

"Nora... please..."

 **[PL]**

Akira and Haru had waited until their large group of mutual friends boarded the Bullhead before heading back towards Leblanc, each with content smiles on their faces after spending time with such a lively group.

Blake had been the last to board, waiting until it was almost too late to board before slipping onto the Bullhead, but not before leaving Akira with a parting gift he still felt lingering upon his cheek. The chaste kiss she gave him had been entirely unexpected for him, and from the look in her eyes as she pulled away, for her as well, though she didn't seem regretful in the least.

Haru had seemed oddly silent for the next few hours but seemed to snap out of it when she and Akira both convinced Futaba to leave the room and help them with starting their garden on the roof of the cafe. One ladder placed outside his balcony later and the three were hauling dirt and planters to the roof until night started to fall, leaving Haru and Futaba to retreat to their shared room while Akira got ready to meet with Qrow by the river.

It was three hours to midnight when Akira rolled up to his usual spot at the Valean River and parked his bike, not surprised to see his biological uncle already posted up with his flask in hand. What Akira wasn't expecting, however, was the presence of the large curved sword in his other hand, leaving the teenager almost apprehensive of climbing off his bike.

"Hey, kid, you know how to read a clock?" Qrow questioned almost sarcastically as he took a large swig from his flask before storing it away and passing his blade to the freed hand, "You're almost thirty minutes early."

"I wasn't expecting you to be here so soon, I was going to set up a few poles to test my luck before you came to ruin it." Akira was quick with his response, earning a barking laugh from the corvian warrior, "Seriously though, what gives?"

The younger of the two gestured towards Qrow's weapon warily, not quite knowing what to make of seeing someone claiming to be his uncle with such a strangely shaped sword, let alone drawn.

"Oh, nothing much, just got finished training a bit. Speaking of training, how about a little spar with Uncle Qrow, huh?" The black haired man spread his arms almost mockingly, "If you do good enough, I might just be able to pass along a few bounties if you're looking to make some extra cash... oh, from the way your ears perked up, I can tell your interested..."

"That depends, why exactly do you want to spar with me?" Akira tilted his head in confusion and narrowed his eyes, pinning Qrow with a searching glare that reminded him too much of his twin sister to be a coincidence. Any annoyance he felt at being given away by his ears was snuffed by the confusion he felt at the offer in the first place.

Qrow pursed his lips and shrugged his shoulders before quickly deciding on telling the truth, for the most part. "I just want to see how good you are, honestly, that way I can rest easy knowing you can watch your own back."

Akira remained silent as he crossed his arms and gave Qrow a long, searching look before shaking his head and making a counter offer, "Tell you what, Qrow... I'll give you your spar if you tell Ozpin to stop trying to recruit me."

"And what makes you think I know him well enough for him to listen to me?" Qrow raised a brow at this, only to scoff when Akira gave him a flat look in response instead of a verbal reply, "Alright, so all I have to do is tell Ozpin to back off?"

"Yeah, that's all I want."

"You've got yourself a deal, Akira. Now, prepare yourself, this is gonna suck for the both of us."


	20. Blood in the Water

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **20,**_ _ **Blood in the Water**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _This chapter was brought to you by the collective shitposting and insane ramblings of a rather terrible place to find yourself, which is my discord._

 **[PL]**

Akira stood across from Qrow with a weary gaze locked onto his uncle's form, his weapon gripped firmly in his right hand while he tensed and relaxed his left hand continuously. The corvian warrior standing just feet from him seemed oddly relaxed to be preparing himself for combat, but Akira chalked it up to having some twenty odd years of experience on his opponent.

For obvious reasons, the feline Faunus didn't quite like the self assured smirk the elder man wore and swore to himself to do his best to wipe it from existence in that moment. Glancing around the area where their spar was to take place, Akira noted the many different stacks of stones, large boulders and other areas he might find cover behind.

The two began to circle on another, evenly paced and prepared to spring into action in a moments notice. A low growl reverberated outwards and nearly caused Akira to tense further until he realized it was coming from himself. Sharp crimson eyes scanned the treeline over Qrow's shoulder as the two continued to circle, though the enhanced eyesight granted to him by his change of species allowed him to pierce the darkness with ease.

So far, there seemed to be no Grimm along the treeline leading into the Emerald Forest, but Akira knew that his presence, along with Qrow's, would soon start bringing in stragglers. Just like the first time he went fishing on the Valean River, the Beowulves and Ursa-minors would come pouring from the woodwork within the next fifteen minutes, leaving Akira and Qrow both anxious to get the spar over with quickly.

Double checking to make sure the safety was disengaged on his pistol, Akira took aim and fired one of his specialized rounds towards the feet of Qrow to get their spar started. The shot was aimed towards the left of Qrow's body, the former Joker hoping to force Qrow into moving right. Akira judged where Qrow would land as best he could before he sprang into motion, his blade moving for the torso of his opponent with a flourish of his wrist and transformation of his weapon.

The whistle of his blade cutting through the air was like music to Akira's ears, having almost missed the sound of combat in the long period of time between his last real fight and now.

Qrow was far more agile than he looked and landed before lowering his center of gravity and spinning on his heel with his blade held in the perfect position to intercept Akira's tanto blade and push him off balance. Akira stumbled once and allowed himself to fall into a quick roll to the right of Qrow and towards the treeline, putting him just out of range for Qrow's follow up attack as Harbinger once more sliced through the air between them.

Bringing his blade back up into the best position he could assume in such short notice, Akira locked his smaller dagger with Qrow's large straight sword when it became clear he was losing too much ground too quickly and grit his teeth to prevent from grunting under the force.

On the outside, the elder corvian warrior was calm and collected, a lazy smirk etched upon his face as he pretended like the fight between him and Akira was a walk in the park for him. On the inside, however, he was quickly reevaluating the strength and agility he thought his nephew to wield. _'I could have sworn he was_ _ **slower**_ _than that_ _at Junior's_ _._ _I knew he was holding back, but..._ _'_

Akira's crimson eyes widened and then narrowed considerably upon feeling the force put behind Qrow's blade, the strength being exerted far exceeding what he expected from the rather slim man. The screech of metal grinding on metal nearly forced Akira to disengage due to how harshly it rang in both sets of his ears, his eyes nearly clenching shut in pain. With considerable effort, Akira was able to rise to a standing position, though he started losing ground immediately from the force behind Qrow's large sword.

"You're quick, kid, I'll give you that," Qrow drawled as he placed his free hand on the hilt of his weapon and began to push harder, "Pretty strong, too. Let's see if you can keep it up, yeah?"

Akira lashed out with a forward snap kick, landing a blow square on Qrow's stomach in hopes that it would distract him long enough to disengage their blade-lock. Qrow grunted lowly due to the force behind the kick but continued bearing down on Akira from above, sparks flying from the two blades as Akira was pushed further and further back.

Gritting his teeth harder, Akira braced himself before placing his free hand along the back of his ten inch dagger and shoving it harshly to the left while flinging his body in the opposite direction, barely avoiding the downward strike of Qrow's sword as it passed him by and slammed into the ground.

Akira stumbled once more and covered his face with his left arm as rocks and dirt were kicked up from Harbinger slamming into the ground, preventing anything from getting in his eyes and obscuring his vision more so than it already had. The heavy beating of his heart echoed in his ears, the rhythm familiar as the war drums that began to play in his minds eye.

The longer he fought, the harder the drums beat.

' _This is get_ _ting too close_ _,'_ Akira thought to himself as he switched his dagger into pistol form before firing two more rounds at Qrow, this time aimed for his chest and shoulder, _'I need strength right now more than agility if he keeps_ _getting close like_ _that...'_

Qrow was quick enough to dodge low and left, preventing either of the Gravity Dust slugs from impacting his body. One of the bullets tore directly through the trunk of a tree just a few feet from Qrow's previous position while another caused the packed earth to crater and splinter slightly from the impact. Akira burst into action once more as Qrow was forced to dodge his bullets, his lithe form leaping through the air and over one of the boulders strewn across the landscape.

The more obstacles he placed between Qrow and himself, the better.

' _Can't let those hit me,'_ The elder corvian warrior noted grimly as he watched Akira put a bit more space between the two, _'Something about this is weird, why isn't my Semblance kicking in?_ _I haven't had to tighten my belt_ _ **onc**_ _ **e**_ _since we started..._ _'_

The pistol in Akira's hand shifted into its tanto form once more, slower than previously due to the damage along the edge of the blade, before it was swung twice in rapid succession towards the throat and torso of the elder fighter as he leaped over the same boulder Akira did moments before. The first blow was blocked and the second twisted around skillfully, leaving the younger fighter with no other choice than to fall back and catch his breath.

Akira found himself growing a bit frustrated at just how skilled Qrow was in slipping around his attacks at the last moment, though he did his best to ignore the anger and focus on staying out of Qrow's striking range unless his weapon was in motion.

The longer Akira and Qrow fought, the more adept the younger fighter became at reading his uncles movements and more often than not was able to dodge Qrow's attacks before they could land. Two strikes, however, had proven too quick for Akira to dodge, instead taking a blow to the chest and another to the stomach before he was flung back from the force.

Akira slid along the ground and then rolled twice before quickly picking himself back up and shaking his head before settling into his combat stance once more. Rushing forward, the younger opponent dodged left and right before committing to attacking from above, leaping into the air while allowing his weapon to shift into its pistol form again. Three shots rang out before Akira was in Qrow's face with his dagger once more.

Only a single shot made impact with Qrow's body, hitting his shoulder and causing the man to spin on his heels from the force behind the slug. Gritting his teeth and ignoring the stinging sensation, Qrow brought his blade up once more and fired it's shotgun function twice to increase the swinging speed and power of his blade.

Akira was forced to try and block the blow once more, though this time he was rudely surprised to find Harbinger cleanly tearing the tip of his weapon off and sending the broken shrapnel flying. He leaned his body back just in time for Qrow's large blade to tear through the space his face previously occupied, time slowing down almost to a stand-still as he stared at the sword.

In that moment, Akira was able to make out every scratch and dent along the surface of the blade in perfect detail, only for time to seemingly resume as he stumbled back further.

Forcing his Aura to his legs like Blake mentioned, he released the energy just as he leaped backwards, sending him into a controlled back flip that put him just outside of Qrow's striking range once more. A quick glance at his weapon left Akira groaning lowly in discontent, two inches of his blade from the tip missing due to Qrow's powerful blade cleaving clean through his own.

While Akira knew that Huntsmen had higher quality weapons and materials allotted to them by the Kingdoms, he wasn't expecting there to be that large a difference between civilian and huntsmen materials.

"Op op op, you gotta' be quicker than that!" Qrow taunted with a laugh before he was forced to drop from a standing position directly onto his back after Akira unleashed a spinning heel kick even with his jawline, "There you go, almost had me!"

Akira spun once on his heel to maintain the momentum of his missed kick and followed up with a downward axe kick upon completing his rotation, narrowly missing Qrow's head as he flopped left like a fish onto his stomach and then once more onto his back with another quick flop. The frizzy haired Faunus switched his weapon to it's pistol form for the third time before firing two rounds towards the man, each missing as the corvian man began to slide backwards on his back.

"You're slippery, old man," Akira laughed almost mockingly at the sight, unable to stop himself due to the ridiculous ways that Qrow continued to dodge him, "Hold still!"

"Hah!" Qrow barked back as he rolled backwards and flipped onto his feet while flourishing his blade, blocking the surprise attack Akira launched as their blades collided once more, "Damn kid, you really _are_ vicious, aren't you?"

Akira didn't reply, instead wrapping his free hand around the hilt of his blade and applying more force into the deadlock, his crimson eyes seeking out the faded pink of Qrow's as he did so. The moment the two pairs of eyes met, a dark smile etched itself upon the face of Akira as he removed the hand supporting his blade along the spine before he reached into his pocket quickly.

Pulling his hand free from his pocket a second later, Akira held an open palm even with Qrow's face before blowing into his hand, kicking up a cloud of highly reflective pieces of shrapnel and sending it into the corvian warriors face and eyes instantly.

"Gah! Come on, what is this?!" Qrow swiped at his face and backpedaled while allowing his blade to fall to the right, barely grazing along Akira's side hard enough to clip his aura and bruise his flesh once more, "You cheating bastard!"

"All is fair in love and war, Qrow," Akira called out as he used the opportunity presented by Qrow's distraction to reach deeply into himself and deaden the link between himself and Arsene, "You should have known this by now!"

The moment the link between Arsene and himself bled into nothing, Akira reached deep within himself and reestablished the connection between himself and Yoshitsune. Just as he had felt the shift in his nature when he switched from Kaguya to Arsene, Akira felt the difference in his body the moment he switched to Yoshitsune.

The feather-light feeling suffusing Akira's body upon linking with Arsene was instead replaced with something else, something he could have mistaken for a gut feeling at best. Unlike the smooth impression that took over his Aura when connected with Kaguya or the looseness he felt when linked with Arsene, the strange feeling in his body now seemed to indicate something else entirely.

Rolling his neck once, Akira shifted his footing and squared his shoulders until he had his blade held at his waist and pointed forward in his left hand, damaged and slightly blunted as it were. He recognized the stance he settled into moments later, having had it drilled into his head by his mother, Haruhime, years prior to finding himself fighting with Qrow.

It felt more comfortable, despite his desire to forget the techniques and kata Haruhime passed onto him. This was one of the few drawbacks he could ever say he felt when wielding the mighty Persona empowering him in that moment.

A heavy, almost unnatural calm settled over the mind of Akira as he focused on his angered opponent once more, pushing away any feelings of humor or his introspective curiosity, odd combination that it was. Breathing deeply through his nose and expelling the breath through his mouth, Akira shifted his footing once more and prepared himself, his crimson eyes sharpening until they were as deadly as the blade in his hand.

The main difference between Yoshitsune and Arsene laid solely in the fact that while Arsene increased Akira's agility, the teenager was willing to wager that Yoshitsune would increase his strength. It was stupid of him to test such things in a spar, but this was the perfect opportunity for him to get a bit of friendly experience, if he could even call their spar friendly.

"Alright, that was just dirty, kid." Qrow growled as he twisted the handle of his sword, causing the metal blade to split into different segments before locking into a far more curved form, "Hope you're ready for payback."

"Come, then." Akira didn't speak any further, his tone as cool as the frigid layer of ice that seemed to settle over his burning gaze grew even colder.

He was forced to react moments later as Qrow sped forward far quicker than before, leaving the frizzy haired teenager to almost flinch in surprise before he felt his weapon moving almost against his will to intercept the large curved blade moving towards his face.

The clashing of metal on metal echoed out as sparks danced in Akira's vision once more, the blade of Harbinger biting into the edge of Akira's dagger each time the two weapons collided. Despite the increase in Qrow's ferocity, however, the frizzy haired teenager found himself getting pushed back far less than he expected.

The loose shirt around Akira's torso was sliced clean through as he spun on his heel for the third time to dodge out of the way of Qrow's fourth downward strike. The frizzy haired Faunus grunted upon feeling the cold night air on his bare flesh as he braced himself and released his own attack just as he finished his rotation.

The broken and jagged tip of Akira's dagger traced along the entire length of Qrow's back and straight through his strange cape before he snapped a kick towards the back of Qrow's leg at the knee, forcing the man into a kneeling position and then into a roll to put distance between the two once more.

"I can't say I was expecting that." Qrow ground out as he rolled his shoulder before twisting the handle of his sword once more, "Time to take this a bit more seriously, I guess."

Qrow didn't want to vocalize it, but he was growing a bit concerned with just how easily Akira was shrugging off not only his attacks, but his banter as well. Unlike Raven, Yang and even Ruby, Akira proved to be capable of keeping his calm even under pressure. Blows that would have put both of his nieces out of the fight seemed to not phase his nephew, though the elder man knew better than to assume his young opponent wasn't feeling the effects of Aura depletion yet.

It didn't surprise Qrow in the least that Akira would resort to dirty tactics such as blowing shrapnel in his eyes, but one thing that confused him greatly is why Akira didn't push the advantage when it presented itself. Despite flailing and pretending to be heavily affected by the particulates in his eyes, Qrow had instead been attempting to bait Akira into attacking while he was 'impaired'.

Akira didn't say anything as he continued to stare down the man across from him, his mouth set into a thin line as he refused to allow his concentration to be broken by Qrow's banter.

The large sword in Qrow's hand shifted form once more, the handle twisting and extending quickly until the corvian man was wielding a scythe easily as large as Crescent Rose, though it didn't seem to have the exact same functionality due to the two barrels that stuck up from it's shifting mechanism.

Qrow allowed both hands to wrap firmly around the hilt of the large scythe in his hands before pointing the blade downwards and away from his body. Tensing himself and crouching low, the elder warrior sized Akira's firm stance up for another moment before springing into action once more.

The large, curved blade was placed on a collision course with Akira's head, forcing the teenager to move his body only just enough to narrowly avoid being decapitated before his blade came upwards to knock the large scythe off course of Qrow's follow up attack.

Qrow fired off another shotgun round to increase the velocity of his blade to bring it back on course with Akira once more, leaving the former Joker no choice but to go airborne once more to avoid the wicked weapon. Harbinger left a terrible noise in the wake of its blade, one far more menacing than it's sword form or anything wielded by Akira at the moment.

Twisting his body into a corkscrew, the frizzy haired teenager avoid another attack before he felt Qrow's foot plant itself into his stomach and send him back towards the earth, his face mere inches from impacting hard soil all the while. The impact against the ground hardly knocked the breath from Akira's lungs thanks to the heavy increase in his endurance through Yoshitsune, but it still made a visible impact on his already heavily depleted Aura reserves.

Rolling backwards and regaining his footing quickly while shaking his head to clear the sparkles of white light dancing in his enhanced vision, Akira began to breathe a bit harsher than before due to the exertion of fighting an opponent much stronger and much more experienced than he was.

The wild style of attacking he used while exploring the Palaces of Mementos seemed completely ineffective against an opponent like Qrow, while two instinctive strikes that followed a style Akira was forced to learn in his youth scored strong blows against his opponent.

Loath as he was to admit it, Akira knew that his only chance at ending the spar between himself and Qrow in his favor would require him to use a skill set he did his best to forget he knew. Apologizing to himself for breaking his promise, either of Akira's feet spread a bit further while his body became more rigid.

Qrow sprinted forward with his scythe drawn backwards for a wide swing at the waist when Akira allowed his gut feeling and instinct guide his weapon into a masterful parry and riposte, leaving Harbinger flying through the air from Qrow's grasp with the edge of Akira's blade pressing into his opponents throat. The moment the blade came to rest upon Qrow's throat, however, Akira felt a bleeding, raging pain lance through his arms and nearly force him to drop his weapon.

The already low Aura levels of Akira's dropped into what would be dubbed the red zone, should the spar between Qrow and himself had been official, leaving the elder warrior the winner of their bout.

It happened in slow motion for the elder warrior, seeing Akira's body moving as if it were outside the flow of time, almost. One moment Akira's blade was held at his waist, the next moment Qrow saw his body blur and leave afterimages in it's wake as four blows rained down on him almost at once.

The first and second strikes impacted separate locations on either of his wrists and deadened his hands, the third blow knocked Harbinger completely from his numbed grip and the fourth impacted his sternum, knocking the breath from his lungs and dropping his Aura levels almost dangerously.

Molten gold stared deeply into faded red before Akira slowly removed his blade from the throat of his uncle and released the hold he had upon the front of his shirt with his off hand.

"I hope that will suffice, Qrow?"

"Yeah, I think it will, Akira..."

 **[PL]**

Twenty or so feet into the treeline of the Emerald Forest, burning eyes the same shade as Akira's watched the meeting between her brother and son after being forced to track down the estranged Faunus for the third time in just a few days.

Raven had been quite busy throughout the day in between consulting Vernal, her decoy Maiden, on the daily runnings of the Branwen tribe and stalking either of her children, leaving her little time to relax and enjoy the night for what it was.

Seeing Yang and her half sister Ruby depart for Beacon had been a bit of an emotional moment for her, memories of times long past rushing to the forefront of her mind before they were swept away with the cold precision of a machine. It had taken quite a few hours of meditation to calm herself once more, almost causing her to miss Akira leaving his establishment and home if not for the close eye she had started keeping on Leblanc Deux.

Deciding to stick with following Akira for the time being to try and get a better read on him, the former Huntress remained in her corvian form and maintained upwards of fifty feet of distance between the two at all points to prevent his heightened sense of hearing or sight from catching hints of her. Her paranoia hadn't extended quite as far in concern with following Yang around due to the fact that her daughter was not born with the enhanced senses of the Faunus species, unlike her youngest child.

Twenty minutes of flying in circles to avoid approaching Rook's field of view, Raven perched herself deep in the treeline of the Emerald Forest as her son rolled up to the Valean River on his bike. It was not quite a surprise to find her brother Qrow already waiting for Akira, though she was confused as to the nature of their meeting considering her twin was absolute trash at fishing due to his Semblance.

It had been a running joke for years between Raven and Qrow that if it came down to survival and the two were stranded alone, Qrow was to never, ever be put in charge with foraging for food or hunting for game, period.

Raven had debated moving closer for upwards of five minutes to eavesdrop on their conversation before her son and brother both motioned to draw their weapons, causing her corvian body to tense and her eyes to harden as she prepared herself to intervene on behalf of Akira. The standoff in the beginning of their spar had been tense, but it hadn't been quite hostile enough for Raven to reveal her presence to her Rook, not yet.

After another minute of considering the reasoning behind Qrow requesting a fight, Raven was able to deduce his reasoning and found herself agreeing with him against her will.

If there was one thing that Raven was undoubtedly curious about, it was the circumstances behind her youngest childs miraculous survival. The world of Remnant was a cruel and very unusual place, Raven knew that much all too well, so it was with rapt attention she payed attention to the conflict between her two family members.

Surviving fifteen years past the day she thought she found his charred skeleton was the greatest news to be delivered to Raven in many, many seasons. There was one thing the corvian Huntress knew without the shadow of a doubt, you didn't survive the Grimmlands of Anima without learning how to fight as viciously as the Grimm themselves.

Akira proved that and then some in the few minutes of combat she was able to observe.

At first he seemed to be unsure of himself, his weaponry as lackluster in power and design as most firearms and blades wielded by civilians. He was certainly skilled, but something about his movements seemed forced and she wasn't referring to the fact that motion required mental input from the brain to the body. Each blow that Qrow scored on Akira made her flinch as if she was the one to receive them, each one bringing her closer to forcing her way into the obviously friendly confrontation if only to stop Akira from being a target of Qrow's wicked blade.

It was around what she now knew was midway through the fight that she began to suspect her son was holding back on purpose, especially when he kept motioning to bring his hand to his face before shaking his head in the negative. She wasn't exactly sure _why_ he continued to do so before refusing at the last moment, but the feeling of his Aura spiking each time only to mellow out tipped her off to the possibility. Qrow was obviously holding back, but it was to be given considering the immense gap in skill and experience between the two fighters.

Raven let out a barking chirp of amusement upon seeing the frizzy haired teenager she knew to be her child blow metal dust in Qrow's eyes, but it was what happened immediately afterwards that caused her to forgo her caution and move forward with intense interest once more.

Throughout the spar between the two, Raven noted the feeling being given off by her son being completely different than the calming aura he exuded the first night she had learned of his existence. The calm feeling that washed over her in his presence had changed, instead, into a miasma of chaotic energy and almost malicious amusement. This changed once more, however, into one far more cold, the effects of the shift in his nature affecting her even dozens of feet away.

Perhaps it was due to the small portion of magic grafted onto her Aural Core by Ozpin in the distant past or even the large blessing of Magic assumed from the previous Spring Maiden, but Raven knew the moment she felt the shift in his nature that Akira was wielding a force of nature that she, herself, wielded.

Somehow, someway, her son had come to wield Magic, _real_ Magic, a mystical source of power she had assumed only six people to wield naturally at any one point outside of her brother and herself. The number of potential Magic wielders rose from eight to nine in that moment, though Raven could hardly bring herself to be concerned due to just who it was she found to wield the power.

The shift in the feeling being exuded by Akira denoted the end of the spar between himself and Qrow, the actual confrontation ending in a way that the former Huntress couldn't confess to having predicted, though.

Qrow had overextended in his sweep towards Akira in an effort to push his opponent into a corner near the treeline and paid dearly for his mistake. From Raven's perspective, it appeared as if her son had unleashed four blows simultaneously upon different points of Qrow's body, six ghostly arms appearing around his two physical appendages due to the speed in which he swung his weapon.

In a display of technique that Raven found hauntingly familiar, Akira disarmed Qrow, knocked the breath from his lungs and held the edge of his blade upon the throat of his opponent, proving without a shadow of a doubt who was the winner of their confrontation.

Her eyes alight with amusement, curiosity and desperation, Raven felt her body leap into motion the moment Qrow vacated the area around the Valean River and float towards Akira's now prone form rather quickly. Flapping twice to keep in the air as she closed the distance between the two, Raven allowed her physical form to shift into her Human form once more, her feet padding lightly against the ground as she came to a rest just feet from Akira's downed body.

Akira seemed to hear her and tried to rise quickly while turning his body to face her, only for Raven to latch out quickly and grasp him by the back of the neck in a spot she knew would seize his muscles and force him into a relaxed state, much like she used to when he was nothing more than a babe.

Feeling his body freeze in her grasp was all Raven needed as she quickly pressed two other points near the base of his neck and shoulders to lock the muscles in his arms to prevent him from fighting back.

"What the-?!" Akira tried to gasp out in shock upon feeling the firm grip upon the back of his neck, but Raven used her freehand to reach around his body and clasp her palm against his mouth, preventing him from speaking further.

Akira thrashed harshly in her grasp and would have continued to do so if not for Raven leaning down and letting her lips brush against his Human ears as she spoke lowly, causing him to freeze in shock and no small amount of dismay.

"Shhh, relax, my child... you have no reason to fear your mother, after all..."

Akira begged to differ, without a doubt.


	21. Taking Initiative

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **2**_ _ **1,**_ _ **Taking Initiative**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 **[PL]**

Shaking crimson eyes bled gold once more as Akira stared over his shoulder as best he could at the face of Raven Branwen, her hand pressed firmly over his mouth as she wrenched him backward into her body. The feeling of a heavy warmth suffusing through the thin, tattered shirt barely clinging to his back was lost upon his fatigue addled mind.

"Rook," Raven breathed lowly as she pulled Akira's now forcefully relaxed body closer to hers with the hand clasped onto the back of his neck, "Relax, I need you to relax for me, I promise I won't hurt you."

Akira bucked once, or rather, tried to, only to find it impossible as the Aura exhaustion he was suffering from depleted his body of his strength. His heart rate, already elevated from his fight with Qrow, skyrocketed once more. The steady beat of war drums in his ears instead became a double bass more fitting a death metal group Makoto was secretly fond of than his heart.

"Please, I just want to talk," Raven tried again to reason with her son, cooing sweetly as she slowly removed her hand from around Akira's mouth, "See? Breathe, you're okay, it's okay!"

Akira drew in a breath unsteadily as he felt her hand pull away from his mouth, only to weakly growl under his breath when she felt her hand land in his hair. If there was one thing Akira despised, it was being touched, especially by strangers. He didn't mind hugs if he initiated the embrace, or even cuddling to his eternal surprise, but to find himself in a position where he couldn't exactly fight back due to fatigue set his calm facade aflame with anger.

He had never experienced Aura exhaustion before, being almost ignorant on all subjects pertaining to the energy source, though he was indeed aware of what happened when the body ran low on the energy.

It was with great surprise that he realized exactly what he was feeling just moments after the fight between Qrow and himself ended, heavy weariness setting in the moment he allowed his body to relax even slightly. It was so unlike Mana exhaustion that Akira almost couldn't stay standing with his own power upon dropping his weapon completely.

The adrenaline he felt surging through his system waned to nothing just as quickly as the heavy enfeeblement beset his body, leaving him to collapse onto his back and clasp his eyes shut to try and regain his energy.

Qrow had asked him multiple times and even nearly insisted he "give Akira a lift", but there was absolutely no way the young man was going to allow someone with bad luck as their "super power" to drive his bike, let alone with him riding on the back. Instead, the former Joker insisted he be left alone so that he could do what he originally intended to do at the river, which was fish and perhaps go for a swim and punch a few Grimm Piranha wannabe's in the face.

Akira came to regret his decision to be left alone almost minutes after he felt Qrow's presence fade into the distance. The nagging feeling in the back of his head had returned full force, demanding he turn his attention somewhere, anywhere, but he ignored the feeling and opted to try and heal his arms instead.

The Aura reserves that he once could have sworn were endless now felt barren, though his Mana still remained in abundance for his utilization. Akira groaned as he felt the presence of Yoshitsune fade back into the depths of his mind while he called upon his second most favored Persona, Kaguya.

The calming effects of having the Moon Princess linked with himself came at once, washing over his body and mind while easing his screaming biceps and triceps. The effects of his last attack on Qrow had been very familiar to Akira, though he had never quite felt the effects of the Hassou Tobi technique in such a way as he had now.

Now, however, despite the calming effects of Kaguya, Akira felt bile rise in his throat as the reality of his situation set in. The muscles in his body were being forcibly relaxed through the grip the female Bandit had on the back of his neck. Two pressure points, unprotected by Aura, had been utilized near his shoulder blades to prevent his arms from receiving proper synaptic signals, another deciding factor in Akira's inability to fight back.

His mother's counterpart, Raven Branwen, had chosen the worst possible moment to catch him alone. Without an equalizer in the form of physical resistance through Aura, Akira doubted his ability to fight off such a woman without liberal usage of Magic.

It would take a breath to allow Lucifer to dance at the forefront of his mind while raining Almighty fire from the heavens, but the collateral damage such an attack could bring would include himself in the blast radius. Despite how powerful the Father of Lies was, Akira was terrified of letting such a beast influence him for any length of time.

Kaguya's Shining Arrows could perhaps tear through her body without intervention from her Aura should he surprise her, but the chances of goring himself with his own attack ran tremendously high and forced him to stay his hand.

"I am going to ask you politely to put me down," Akira spoke through gritted teeth as he felt her start running her fingers through his hair, "This is your only warning."

"Oh, hush now, dear," Raven chided lightly while reaching out and running her thumb and forefinger over the tip of his right feline ear, "Is that any way to speak to your mother?"

"I'm sorry, but you are _not_ my mother," Akira tried to deny her the title, only for her to pinch his ear and tug at it lightly, "Seriously, get the hell off of me already, who do you think you are?!"

"I can't do that, Rook," Raven shook her head in the negative, her long ebony tresses dancing in Akira's vision as she did so, "Not until you listen to what I have to say, at the very least. Please."

The tone of voice she took struck a chord with Akira, especially due to the voice which she spoke with. Her scent was nearly identical with Haruhime, if not stronger than he remembered. Her voice was one he hadn't heard in quite some time and never with the strange lilt he heard now.

Haruhime had never begged for his attention, never pleaded for him to hear her out. In the many years that Akira knew his true biological mother, never once had she displayed even a quarter of the emotion Raven was in that moment.

Her voice pricked at old wounds Akira long thought healed over, but now he saw that the damage upon his psyche still ran deep. His throat clenched tightly before the raven haired teenager forced his words to come forth, "My name is _Akira_ , woman! Why should I listen to a word you have to say?"

"I don't care what you call yourself, you will always be my Rook," Raven shrugged as she brought her face to lean over his shoulder in line with his own once more.

Akira leaned his head away from Raven's as she rested her chin upon his shoulder, her left hand clasped around the scruff of his neck like he was nothing more than a common house cat. Despite Akira's struggle, however, his body became weaker and weaker as she maintained her grip.

"You know, there are only _two_ type of people that jump people in forests," Akira snarked as he snapped his crimson eyes in Raven's directions once more, " _Stalkers_ and _Murderers,_ which are you?"

"Neither," Raven didn't seem offended in the least by Akira's words, a fond smile appearing on her face as she reached up and brushed his long bangs from his eyes, "Though stalker isn't too far from the mark, honestly."

"Figures," Akira growled lowly at his unfortunate luck, once more blaming Qrow in the back of his mind as he felt his eyes grow heavier and heavier against his will, "My last stalker was cuter than you, lady, I just want you to know that."

Raven's smile tilted downwards a bit but remained in place none the less, though Akira felt her lightly pop him in the back of the head in an almost chiding way. The motion was so familiar that Akira had a hard time remembering that it wasn't Haruhime gripping his neck, but Raven Branwen. The harder he fought against the creeping exhaustion, however, the further and further he found himself drifting into Morpheus's territory once more.

"Every good mother must keep up with their children," Raven leaned down and allowed her face to be smothered in the bunched up cloth around Akira's neck, "Just like I know that you should be getting a shower right now if you kept to your normal schedule. Your arms don't seem to be working right, would you like me to help you out?"

"You... what is wrong with you?" Akira sputtered incredulously, not quite comprehending how Raven thought such an offer would work with him, "Of course I don't!"

Akira yawned heavily despite his desire to remain conscious seconds later, cursing himself moments later when the ebony haired woman clinging to him giggled at the action.

"Shh, go to sleep, I'll watch over you, my Rook." Raven whispered not unkindly, a heavy lilt to her voice as she began to hum almost contently.

The longer Akira listened, the more he could have sworn the melody was familiar, dancing just on the edge of recognition as his eyes drifted completely closed. The feeling of warmth suffusing through his back and having his mothers clone running her hands through his hair was too much for him to fight.

' _God damn Branwen's...'_ Akira thought to himself bitterly as Morpheus beckoned him once more.

 **[PL]**

A small beam of light pierced through the lids of Akira's eyes some many hours later, rousing him from the depths of sleep and dragging him into the waking world once more. An unfamiliar weight pressed into his chest heavily and his body felt as if it weighed nearly twice what it normally did. His fingers dug into something soft and squishy, though his mind couldn't quite process the sensation in the least. Releasing his grasp, he instead tried to raise his arms, only to find the task a bit more difficult than his sleeping muscles would allow.

Realizing that moving his arms was a task he would have to leave for later, he instead turned his attention to the ache he felt all over his body, the second thing he noticed upon awaking from what he could only describe as the most vivid dream of his life.

Doing his best to recall the events of his dreams, Akira gave up seconds later upon feeling it slip from him quicker and quicker the harder he tried to recall it. Knowing that it would come to him later, Akira instead relaxed into the familiar scent of frankincense and sandalwood, a strange mixture that he always associated with his home in the country side of Kyoto.

The bed beneath him was much different than the one he recalled usually sleeping upon, especially due to just how soft it was. The warmth beneath him and all around him was much more encompassing than ever before, nearly forcing him back into the depths of sleep once more, if not for the urge to relieve himself and adjust his sleepwear.

Akira was more than familiar with waking up with Futaba using him as a full body pillow, but the increase in weight was far more than he was used to. Crimson eyes opened blearily as he attempted to bring an arm up to block out the light, only to fail in doing so thanks to the rather severe ache he felt in the biceps and triceps still. It was much less than the previous night, but Akira knew he would be having troubles unless he used a minor healing spell or two before he started his day.

"Ugh..." Akira glanced downwards to try and see who was currently using him as a pillow, assuming it was either Futaba or perhaps Haru due to just how heavy the presence on his chest was, only for his mind to come barreling back into reality the moment he saw the heavy fringe of black cascading over his throat and chest.

Burning crimson eyes the same shade as his stared back through the long tresses of ebony, causing Akira's heart to begin hammering in his chest once more upon recognizing just who he was staring at. No small amount of contentment was present in the shining rubies Akira found himself gazing into, other emotions seemingly taking a back seat in that moment of recognition.

"Good morning, Rook," Raven greeted with a small smile before she yawned lightly and arched her back to stretch, the blanket covering the two pooling around her waist and betraying her rather revealing sleeping wear, "Do you know how handsy you are in your sleep?"

Akira blinked thrice owlishly before blanching as his mind caught up to the words that left Raven's lips.

"...Where am I?" Akira questioned after a moment of silence, his body remaining almost frozen in shock as he tried to process the fact he was waking up, _in bed_ , with his mothers clone, "What happened to me, and why am I waking up in bed with _you_?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Raven drawled lazily as she reached up and pressed an index finger against Akira's lips, "Most men would _kill_ to be in your position right now."

Akira was forced to remain silent as she continued to press her index finger into his lips, her other hand coming up moments later to run through his hair once more. After a few moments, Raven seemed to find what she wanted in his gaze as she allowed her finger to fall from his lips and trace along his throat instead.

"You'll find that I'm not most men," Akira all but growled as he attempted to raise up, only for Raven to push him back down with one hand almost without effort, "Seriously, where am I and how did I get here?"

A quick glance around the room showed no form of weaponry or objects for Akira to wield, though he doubted he could even lift his arms at the moment. A small table rested beside her bed with what appeared to be a journal beside two crimson candles in silver dishes resting on the surface.

Besides the fact that Akira had no doubt Raven wouldn't be phased by hot wax and being smacked with a thin book, he doubted his arms would be working well enough to fight back until he healed himself regardless. Pulling Kaguya to the surface fully instead of allowing her presence to haunt the back of his mind was, without a doubt, out of the question, especially due to how close in proximity Raven was to his prone body.

"The main encampment of our family, the Branwen Tribe, resides two hundred miles north of Mistral at the moment," Raven stated with a small smile on her face as she crawled further atop Akira until she was nearly sitting on his stomach, "Why, eager to get back to your little threesome so soon? Can't stomach spending time with a mother whose missed you dearly for fifteen years?"

Akira sputtered once more before shaking his head in the negative quickly, "That is wholly incorrect, one, and none of your business, two."

"Everything relating to you and Yang _is_ my business, Rook," Raven cooed lightly as she came to rest her head in the crook of his neck once more, "You'll come to understand soon enough, I suppose... now, come, it's time to get out of bed, you lazy cat."

Raven rose from his chest moments later and allowed her long legs to slink over the side of the raised bed Akira found himself resting in, alabaster flesh stretching for miles in his eyes as she stood and stretched her arms above her head once more.

Her sleep wear was nothing more than a lacy set of lingerie that seemed more designed for appeal than function, crimson and black designs decorating the material that hardly covered her bust or behind. Akira averted his eyes a bit too late to prevent himself from getting an eye full, his stomach and lower body churning uncomfortably at once as a result.

Akira would be a liar if he tried to say that Raven wasn't an attractive woman, her body remaining in pristine shape throughout the long years. The woman seemed to notice his wandering gaze and sent him a rather flirtatious smirk over her shoulder before she made her way to the curtained area off to the left of her bed.

The disgust he felt towards himself was through the roof, any flushing of his face disappearing into a ghostly shade of white in that moment.

Akira threw his legs over the edge of her bed the moment she disappeared from his direct line of sight and pulled the heavy quilt from atop his waist and pushed it to the side, revealing to him the fact that his clothing was removed in his sleep besides his boxer briefs.

"What the _fuck_ is going on here...?" Akira whispered to himself, mostly in disbelief as he stood and brought the quilt with him to cover his lower body, "Where are my clothes, or my glasses?!"

"Relax, your shirt was in tatters and your pants were filthy, I didn't want them in my bed. I've got them here if you'd like to get dressed," Raven called out from behind the hanging black curtain to the left of her bed, "I doubt you enjoy prancing around in your underwear."

"You really shouldn't act so casually about this, lady," Akira retorted almost hotly as he glanced at the pile of shredded black and white material in the far corner of Raven's room, "That's... not normal, at all!"

"Normal?" Raven questioned with a tilted brow as she stepped from behind the curtain, once more garbed in her outfit of crimson and black, "I don't think I've ever claimed to be normal."

Raven tossed what appeared to be his heavy leather jacket and his pants into his chest before motioning for Akira to step behind the curtain, only for him to glance down at the clothing in his arms and then back up at Raven moments later.

"The longer you wait, the longer you'll be here," Raven didn't seem to mind his anger, seemingly pretending to not notice the heavy feeling in the air in the least, "I certainly don't mind if you'd prefer to stay with me."

"As if," Akira growled before tossing the shirt onto Raven's bed and pulling his pants on without bothering with the curtain, already knowing there was no sense in feeling shame by that point, "How the hell did you transport me an entire continent away? Just how long was I out?"

"I have my ways," Raven didn't try to hide her amusement at the tone Akira took, her burning eyes wandering his pale form almost calculatingly as Akira attempted to dress himself quickly, "It's Sunday morning, just passed eight."

Akira bit his tongue from spitting another scathing retort and slipped his slim leather coat over his chest before looking around for his shoes. Find them halfway beneath her bed moments later, Akira slipped his socks and shoes onto his feet and started to look around once more. "My weapon and holster?"

"Your weapon was in pieces and your holster was sliced clean through like your shirt," Raven gestured towards the corner of her tent where Akira's ruined shirt was piled, "It's only worth scrap at this point."

"God damnit..." Akira groaned lowly as he bent down and picked up the heavily damaged dagger-pistol, turning it over in his hands twice to get a better look at the damage, "I can't even switch it's form like this."

"Why did you make it out of such weak materials, if you don't mind my asking?" Raven questioned while coming to stand directly behind Akira while glancing over his shoulder, only for him to shoot her an unamused glare before turning to face her, "Come now, why are you so upset with me, Rook?"

"Oh, don't even get me _started_ right now, lady," Akira growled out while tossing the ruined dagger onto his shirt once more after removing the magazine from it's place in the handle, "Maybe it has something to do with you kidnapping me?"

"Kidnapping is a rather strong term for bringing you home, is it not?" Raven reached out and placed a hand against Akira's cheek, only for him to tug his face away and tug at his jacket before zipping it up to dampen the breeze he felt due to lacking a proper shirt, "Please, you don't have to be like this!"

Raven raised her voice as she took a step forward, though there was no anger in her tone. Instead, desperation colored her voice and once more struck a chord deep within Akira, the same chord she had struck the night before.

Akira didn't want to admit it, but it was taking everything he had to stop himself from closing the distance between the two and cling to her like a child. Memories of his past and the heavy feeling of betrayal he felt when he was shipped to Tokyo in disgrace returned at once, only to be crushed beneath his heel with brutal effeciency in scant seconds.

"Look, I'm a very busy person and I'm very behind schedule, will you please just return me to where you found me?" Akira questioned after a few moments, his tone finally leveling out into one slightly more pleasant, if not tremendously forced, "If you do, I promise I won't hold this meeting against you the next time we cross paths."

"... If you insist," Raven eventually agreed while stepping passed him, her face schooled into a blank mask though Akira could clearly see the hurt in her eyes, "There is something I wish to show you first."

Akira didn't move at first, but the glance Raven spared him over her shoulder spurned him into motion and soon, he was shoulder to shoulder with the woman as they passed through one of the two flaps in her tent.

The area behind her tent was cordoned off from the rest of what Akira assumed was a large encampment due to the sound of many different voices spilling over the small walls erected behind her tent. A large tree and a few smaller saplings were all that greeted his sight save for two smaller tents beside her own arranged in a section of their own.

Gesturing with her head once, Raven began to walk to the left-most tent and parted the flaps after pausing by the entrance for just a moment, her brows furrowed slightly as she disappeared into the darkness of the tent.

A heavy smell of incense filled the air as smoke poured from the now open tent entrance, the familiar smell of frankincense teasing Akira's senses and drawing him closer to the smaller tent bit by bit until he was standing in the entrance with no small amount of curiosity driving him.

The sight of Raven resting on her knees next to a table resting just a foot from the ground greeted him as he stepped into the tent, though the contents of the tent are what nearly caused him to take a step right back out in shock.

Two pictures rested on a raised table along with an elegantly crafted incense stand designed to look like a three legged crow, an animal Akira recognized immediately. The left most picture was of Raven and a black haired child with two furry ears resting atop his head. The picture to the right was of the leader of the Branwen Tribe in nothing but a hospital gown with a small babe with blond tufts for hair resting against her chest.

It didn't take long for Akira to realize just who the two pictures were of and just what the rest of the tent was dedicated to. Pictures of Raven during her Beacon days lined the table to the left of where she was sitting while other photos of her and those he knew were associated with her past, Ozpin included.

The group photo consisting of Qrow, Ozpin, Raven, Glynda Goodwitch and four other people that Akira didn't recognize drew his attention out of the crowd, though his eyes soon passed it over for another. The next photograph to catch his attention was dedicated to the ebony haired Ronin and someone who bore an incredibly striking resemblance to Ruby Rose, the positioning of the two indicating something perhaps more intimate than friendly from the heavy blush on the older Ruby's face.

"Why are you showing me this?" Akira questioned after a moment of retrospection, his tone neither aggressive nor friendly, "For what purpose?"

"I want you to understand, Rook, more than anything in the world," Raven stressed the final words as she gestured towards the steaming water and tea set upon the low sitting table, "Please, sit and share some tea before you go?"

Akira knew he had no real choice in the matter, though he appreciated the fact that she was at least pretending his opinion mattered at this point. "Sure, why not."

Kneeling in a position that he was all too familiar with, it took a great deal of self restraint from taking the lead in preparing what he knew would be powdered tea. Raven, too, jerked to a halt the moment Akira motioned for the tea, each falling back to a seated position at the same time almost coyly.

Raven blinked once and then gestured towards the tea set demurely, a motion that was far more ladylike than her appearance would suggest. Seeing no point in denying the supposed honor, Akira rose and made his way around the table to the serving position before kneeling and grabbing the steaming kettle of water and taking it from the burner it rested upon.

The powdered tea leaves that Raven had set aside were fragrant and carried hints of cinnamon, cloves and allspice, all ingredients that Akira hadn't quite found in abundance in Vale. Two small scoops of ground tea leaves were all that were required to make a strong brew, leaving quite a bit for Raven's usage later.

Akira poured the water steadily and then bowed once at the waist before returning to his seat across from Raven, his expression still schooled into one as neutral as he could maintain given the circumstances.

Throwing a tantrum would do him no good, nor would threatening and otherwise attacking someone he knew could rend him in twain in a straight up fight without Magic. While this would be the perfect opportunity to perhaps initiate a surprise attack, Akira knew that he would be leaving himself stranded with no real way back to Vale that didn't require him fighting his way out of a bandit encampment and the Grimmlands of northern Anima.

Drawing a deep breath and allowing the calming effects of Kaguya's presence to soothe his frayed nerves, Akira waited for Raven to take a small sip of her drink before doing the same. If the beverage was poisoned, she would be either feeling the effects as soon as he would, or had already built up an immunity to the dosage she may or may not have kept in her tea.

He wouldn't put it passed her to drug him, but he was at least willing to display some form of cordiality as long as she kept her distance and out of his personal space. Finding himself hundreds of miles away from the Kingdom he now called home was irritating, as was the entire night with Qrow and morning with Raven, but Akira was known for rolling with the punches and still coming out on top.

After all, Kamoshida's Palace hadn't even phased him too much when he first mistook the large castle located in the Metaverse as his new school, Shujin Academy.

"I know I've said this at least twice, but you never acknowledged me, so I'll say it again," Raven began slowly as she took another sip of her strong drink before allowing it to rest on the table before her, "I did _not_ abandon you. I thought you were dead and had... no reason to look for you."

"Just what does that even mean?" Akira questioned after a moment, not bothering to take a polite drink of his tea, instead focusing on the conversation at hand, "Why did you think I was dead?"

"You... I suppose I should start near the beginning of your inception, I suppose," Raven began slowly, her voice growing heavy as her crimson eyes tilted downwards, staring deeply into the honey colored tea in her glass, "Your father was the chieftain of a rival Bandit Tribe, due north of our previous encampment."

Raven seemed to stare into space for a moment before she shook her head and returned to the present, her expression as carefully maintained as Akira's in that moment.

She was as fragile on the inside as he had assumed, then.

"Our Tribes met in combat, the Branwen stood victorious in the ashes. I took him as a trophy and kept him around for entertainment, just to rub salt in the wound. I was careless and ended up pregnant, having you just six months after inception." Raven paused and took a deep, shuddering breath before continuing, her gaze losing focus all the while, "You were strong for being born prematurely, we almost couldn't get you to cry after I finally finished birthing you."

The elder woman laughed lightly, true amusement shining through for a moment before it was gone like a candle snuffed by the wind, "Your father, lowly cur that he was, coerced one of my tribeswomen too close and robbed her of her life and weapon through the bars of his cage. He escaped, setting fire to my tent and snatching you from your cradle moments before I was able to secure you."

Akira paid rapt attention as Raven spoke, knowing that he was learning the fate of his other self. It was humbling to hear what could have been, perhaps should have been.

"I was forced to let him escape least he slit your throat then and there... You were to be ransomed, a hundred thousand lien in cold, hard cards," Raven choked as she started to near the end of her tale, a single tear escaping her eyes before she viciously swiped it away with a forefinger, "I approached the town he swore to meet at, only to find desolation instead of what once was a thriving settlement. Despite my semblance allowing me to close vast distances to be with the ones I love, I always seem to be too late when it matters most..."

Raven took a deep, shuddering breath to try and calm herself before looking up, crimson meeting crimson as soul reached out to soul.

"I searched the town for days afterwards. I couldn't be certain, but I had assumed I found your skeleton in a hut near the back of the town, along with Qing-Long..." Raven seemed to reach her wits end and began to tear up openly, her voice unable to maintain its cool edge, "I only wish I was there to kill him myself, or at least watch the light fade from his eyes. I'll curse his name until the day I die for taking you from me."

The sound of rattling came to a halt as she felt something clasp itself over her wrist and hand, her eyes gaining their light back as she snapped her head up in confusion. Akira rested his palm over her shaking grasp on her tea cup, preventing the liquid from spilling onto the table and her clothing. Taking the glass gently from her grasp, Akira set it to the side before placing his hand on the table palm facing upwards and sending her a pointed look.

Raven took less than a moment to consider the offer before she placed her hand within Akira's, a confused but small smile appearing on her face as a result.

"Thank you, for telling me," Akira spoke, pausing and elaborating on his show of appreciation, "I... I can't imagine how that must have felt."

"No, I... I don't think anyone can," Raven agreed with a small shake of her head, her gaze falling from his and towards their hands instead, "It... feels like a burden has been lifted, in a way, like I can sleep easier knowing you're still alive..."

Raven flipped their hands over and traced her thumb along his knuckles, memorizing the texture of his smooth skin and imprinting the calming feeling of his presence in her mind.

"I can only assume that you had a reason for leaving Yang behind as well, then?" Akira questioned after a moment of silence, "Despite what Qrow has said, my gut tells me there is more to it... isn't there?"

"There... is," Raven pursed her lips and glanced away from their hands, her vision instead falling upon a photograph of her holding Yang in her arms when she was first born, "I can't say it's the best reason, but it's a reason none the less..."

Akira knew she wasn't going to elaborate, at least not for a good while.

"That's all I needed to know," Akira murmured softly before reaching out with his free hand and placing it on Raven's shoulder from across the table, "While I am... not quite sure how to feel about our first meeting, I can say for certain that my first impression of you isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be."

"Is... that meant to be a compliment?" Raven questioned while tilting her head to the side in confusion, not knowing if she should be offended or not.

"It is," Akira affirmed with a nod of his head before allowing his hand to fall away from his mothers clones shoulder, "I think. It's hard to hold a Bandit Queen in too high of regards, Bandit and all."

"If I'm a Bandit Queen, that makes you the Bandit Prince, you know," Raven felt the need to point out with a small laugh before reaching behind her back with her free hand, "We just need to kidnap Yang and we can start a new Kingdom with us as the Royal Family, what do you say?"

"As tempting as that sounds, I much prefer to run my coffee shop, it's much easier to deal with than politics," Akira couldn't quite tell if she was joking or not, especially considering the circumstances behind his presence in her encampment at that point, "Though, politics has always been important to me."

"It's in our blood," Raven agreed before revealing a large case from behind her back, likely from the shelf behind her, "I... I want you to take this. Your weapon was trash and after watching your fight with Qrow last night, I think this would suit you much better."

"I made that weapon, thank you very much," Akira eventually stated blandly before glancing down at the long case she placed on the table between them, "What is this supposed to be?"

"Open it and find out, oh smart one," Raven rolled her eyes at the offense Akira took to her calling his weapon trash, "I can tell it was the first real weapon you crafted, we can do better working together if you must have a firearm."

Akira kept his silence, knowing that she was correct in her assumption that his now ruined combat knife fifty caliber was his first working prototype. Instead, he opened the heavy, redwood case around seven foot in length and felt both of his brows rise upon seeing what lay inside.

A thick Bokken, deep red in color, rested within the case, finger grooves carved into the hilt of the all-wooden blade to provide a better means of holding the weapon than wrapping. The Bokken lacked a tsuba, instead having what appeared to be a large plume of black feathers with red fabric woven in trailing from the blade. Another set of finger grooves were carved above the plume of raven black feathers, yet another strange feature of the weapon that Akira couldn't quite make heads or tails of.

A deep purple line that seemed to glow in the light was etched along the spine of the Bokken, the final noticeable feature of an otherwise heavy looking, stylized practice blade.

"This is rather intricate for a training sword." Akira noted as he grabbed the weapon by the handle, his fingers sliding into their appropriate grooves nearly perfectly as he pulled the weapon free from its casing, "The balance is strange as well, it's much heavier than it looks."

"It's not just a Bokken, you know," Raven reached out and moved the plume of feathers away from the carved bevel of the blade, revealing a slit that wrapped all the way around the wooden sword, "It's a Shirasaya as well, giving you both a non-lethal and lethal edge to wield in combat. The glowing purple line is a gauge that shows the amount of Dust stored within the sheath, namely Gravity Dust, to be used with Iaido techniques. Push Aura into the blade if you wish to disengage the lock that keeps its sheath in place."

"That... is rather creative," Akira noted as he slowly coerced his Aura into where he saw the lock was located on the blade, feeling the weapon vibrate slightly as the lock on the blade within was released, "This is a finely crafted blade, surely you aren't going to give it to me without a catch."

"It was my fathers," Raven stood and walked around the table before coming to a rest as she stood beside Akira, her crimson eyes staring downwards at him as he admired the ebony black blade as he slid it free from its Bokken sheath, "His name was Rook, too, you know. I hoped that by naming you after the man who raised me, you would end up just as strong as he was. Despite being somewhat lacking in the physical department, muscle mass wise, you seem to have inherited his strength of character, and you have no idea how proud that makes me."

Akira felt his throat clench a bit tighter upon hearing her words, the parallels and differences between Haruhime and Raven becoming too strong in that moment. He had heard a similar speech from Haruhime just as he was banished to Tokyo, though it was quite a different speech than that which Raven just spoke.

One mother told him he brought disgrace to his family name while the other wanted nothing more than to shower him with the exact words he had sought for so long. He could be forgiven for allowing a single tear to fall as he, too, felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders in that moment.

"Thank you..." Akira whispered as he sheathed the blade and ceased the flow of Aura to the lock, allowing the heavy wooden Bokken styled sheath to firmly slide into a sealed position, "You have no idea how much that means to hear."

Raven said nothing more, instead kneeling down and wrapping an arm around Akira's shoulder before pulling him into her embrace once more. The frizzy haired teenager replaced the ornate weapon within its case for a moment and returned the womans embrace with as much gratitude as he could muster, his heart telling him that it mattered little if she had truly birthed him or not.

Be it Haruhime or Raven, they were both two sides to the same coin, and Akira couldn't help but project his previously deep devotion to his mother onto Raven in that moment instead of where it truly belonged.

 **[PL]**

An hour had passed before Akira was actually ready to return to his home in Vale, standing across from Raven with his new weapon, which he now knew was named Yatagarasu, clasped firmly in his left hand.

"Are you sure I can't convince you to stay just a bit longer, R-... Akira?" Raven questioned after a few moments of silence between the two, both standing in the clearing between the three different tents Raven claimed as her own, "I can get another bed, if sharing mine is such a problem."

"As... tempting as the offer is, I really have a lot to do," Akira ignored the clenching of his stomach as he thought about the position he woke up in and instead focused on more pleasant subjects, "If you actually send me a text next time, perhaps we can set aside some time to get dinner or something."

"I'll hold you to that," Raven pierced him with a knowing look before she quickly unsheathed her long, crimson blade and tore a hole in reality in one smooth strike before sheathing it just as quickly, "There, your concubines await. Also, I've found that its best to get a running start, just in case."

"Just in case what?" Akira questioned after a moment of tense silence, "Where does that even lead?"

Raven stepped around Akira and gave him a quick pat on the shoulder before ushering him forward with a few prods in the lower back, "My semblance allows me to open a portal to those I've established a link with, no matter the distance."

"Handy... and who did you open this portal to, exactly?" Akira tried to stop her from pushing him into the churning tear in reality by digging his feet into the ground, only to fail and stumble forward, "I may have changed my mind, I'm going to walk instead!"

"Yang, and too late! Tell your sister I said hello, and have a safe 'trip'!"

With that, Raven placed her foot firmly on Akira's backside and gave him a strong shove, sending him hurtling through the portal and towards wherever Yang was located at the moment.

Glancing down at her Scroll idly, Raven noted the time and tried to remember just what Yang was supposed to be doing at the moment, only to remember after the fact that she should actually be taking Beacon's Initiation right around that moment.

Allowing her mouth to open and close a few times in idle thought, Raven eventually shrugged and turned towards her tent, whistling a jaunty tune all the while. Her son was alive and _didn't_ hate her, her daughter was alive and wanted to stalk her. Life was good.

 **[PL]**

Akira was standing with his feet planted firmly onto the earth one moment and in the next, he found himself flying through the air a dozen feet in the air at quite high speeds for being shoved lightly. The former Joker felt his body impact two separate objects at once at the apex of his flight, sending himself and both objects onto a collision course with what he could only assume was the ground once again.

Tree branch after tree branch collided with his torso, ribs and arms, chipping away at his Aura little by little until his body finally came to a halt by impacting the earth heavily. Clenching his fist to make sure Yatagarasu was still clasped within his left hand, Akira motioned to rise until he felt something impact his body heavily and send his skull crashing into the earth once more with no small amount of force.

A second after feeling his skull be reintroduced to Terra Firma, Akira registered the feeling of something incredibly soft encompassing his face as what felt like two knees were driven into his stomach. Wheezing and coughing into the firm, fabric covered flesh pressing into his face, Akira groaned and felt his eyes cross in pain as the figure that landed atop him rolled over quickly to remove themselves from his chest. Another figure impacted him a second later, driving him even further into the ground and causing him to lose what little breath he had regained as the first figure rolled from atop him.

"Who the he- Akira?!"

"Akira, what the hell...?"

Glancing upwards from his dazed position on the ground, Akira was barely able to make out the lilac and amber colored orbs peering deeply into his own in that moment.

"Yang...? Blake...?"

The sets of lilac and amber eyes tore away from his before the purple shaded eyes bled crimson.

"Back off, he's _my_ partner."

"Oh, I beg to differ, blondie."

Akira wasn't even sure what was going on anymore as he felt Blake crawl from his lap, both Yang and his former employee now standing over his prone body and squaring off like they were about to fight.


	22. The Eight Span Crow

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **2**_ _ **2,**_ _ **The Eight-Span Crow**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _Okay, let me just say one thing... I will **not** be talked to like a petulant child for my decision on the direction of this story. If you have something constructive to say, that is fantastic, but quite a few different reviews made me, quite frankly, not want to write for you anymore._

 _For those who left actually constructive reviews, thanks, and I've tried to work on what folks have suggested._

 **[PL]**

A tense silence overcame the clearing Akira found himself in as Yang and Blake both kept switched their gazes from one another and Akira's downed form.

"Partners...?" Akira questioned unsurely as he drew in a deep breath and did his best to raise, ignoring the fact that he was still reeling from the heavy blow to the head, "Can someone please tell me where I'm at?"

Yang glanced away from Blake after a few moments, her red eyes fading to lilac before she tilted a blond brow at her younger brothers confusion, "The Emerald Forest, duh. You're the first person I made eye contact with, sooo... where you not paying attention at all, or what?"

"I am so confused..." Akira murmured while shaking his head in the negative, "There seems to be a misunderstanding here, what do you mean first person you made eye contact with? How does this make us partners?"

"You really _weren't_ paying attention... Okay, well, we're taking Initiation right now, you at least know that much, right?" Yang seemed a bit taken aback by Akira's lack of knowledge, causing his face to blank as he rose to his full height, "What the hell are you even doing here, anyway? I thought you said you didn't want to go to Beacon?"

"I don't," Akira shrugged his shoulders and glanced between the two in confusion, "I'm here by complete happenstance, I assure you."

The look shared between Blake and Yang in that moment was much different than the aggressive glares the two were leveling at one another just moments prior. Both seemed to turn and stare at Akira with the same carefully blank expression at once, though the true emotion both were experiencing shined in their eyes clearly.

"Uh huh... _totally._ " Yang agreed with an almost knowing smile on her face, obviously unbelieving of Akira's words, "So you just happen to fall out of the sky at the right moment to run into me and Blake here for what, a little bit of fun?"

Akira lifted a finger and opened his mouth to retort before his finger sagged and his mouth snapped shut. "When you put it like that..."

"Where exactly did you come from?" Blake finally spoke up, her stance relaxing slightly as she pinned Akira with a pointed look, "You didn't board the airship and you weren't with the other students last night."

"Funny story, that is," Akira gave a weary laugh and a shake of his head before tightening his grip on the strangely crafted Shirasaya in his left hand, "I completely blame Qrow, probably will until the day I die. Fell asleep at the river after sparring with him with every intention of fishing, woke up falling from the sky. I _may or may not_ have been kidnapped by a really big bird in my sleep, You can never really be certain with these things."

"That... makes more sense than it should," Yang crossed her arms and nodded her head firmly as if agreeing with Akira, "You're still my partner though, rules are rules. They never specified beyond first eye contact, after all."

"If he _isn't_ here to be a student, then that makes _us_ partners Yang," Blake took a step closer to Akira and placed a hand on his shoulder, "If he _is_ here as a student _,_ he's mine, simple as that."

"Family first is a motto I live by, Blake," Yang all but growled as she took a step forward and placed a hand on Akira's shoulder just next to Blake's hand, "As his big sister, I get first dibs."

"Okay, this is getting out of hand," Akira felt the need to interrupt their moment once more, "One, I'm not trying to be a student so _you two_ are partners. Two, I technically made eye contact with you both at the same time and three... actually, I think the first two covered it."

"That's cute, you think you have an option," Yang gave Akira a look that could be likened to pity for a moment before smiling brightly, "Don't worry, I'll keep ya safe until we can get you trained a bit if getting hurt is what you're scared of!"

"Reasoning with you is proving to be more trouble than it's worth..." Akira deadpanned before turning his attention to Blake, "Who said eye contact is how you determine partners, anyway?"

"Headmaster Ozpin did," Blake shrugged her shoulders at the incredulous expression on Akira's expression, "It is probably the worst possible way of picking partners I've ever heard of, though."

"Of course it was Ozpin, of course..." Akira trailed off for a moment before looking between the two, "Just point me towards the river and I'll let you two get back to prancing in the forest with the rest of the students."

"The river is in the complete opposite direction of our objective, Akira," Yang sighed as if heavily burdened by Akira's ignorance before deciding to take matters into her own hands, "Look, if you really aren't here to be a student, how about sticking close with Blake and I until we're done? It shouldn't take more than a few hours and I'd feel better if you _weren't_ frolicking through a Grimm infested forest alone."

"Yang, I can handle my own, you should know this-" Akira began before she raised a hand to cut him off, a strained smile on her face.

"I watched you manhandle a few goons, sure," Yang admitted, causing Blake to tilt a brow at the admission before she remembered Akira mentioning his visit to Junior's club in passing, "Grimm are a whole different type of creature, little bro."

"So if I start walking away, _right now..._ what are you going to do about it?"

"Probably chase you down before dragging you along, kicking and screaming."

"...God damnit, Yang."

 **[PL]**

Yang sent a fleeting glance towards the two figures to her left, Blake and Akira remaining in line with her as the three made their way through the Emerald Forest towards their objective to the north. After a few more moments of allowing Akira to regain his breath after his harsh landing, Yang had been 'forced' to grab him before he could bolt and throw him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, something he did not appreciate in the least.

After ten minutes of wiggling and trying to annoy her enough to get her to drop him without being forced to hurt her, Yang had threatened him in a way he wasn't expecting, let alone for her to follow through with through a teasing pop.

"If you don't stop wiggling, I'm going to stop and bend you over my knee for a spanking," Yang eventually growled out playfully, a fake glare being sent his way over her shoulder, "Oh, don't give me that look, you think I'm playing?"

"I believe you, that's why I'm giving you the look," Akira all but rolled his eyes before lurching out of Yang's grasp without further struggle and landing on his feet with a flourish, "You've got a lot of nerve, dragging me through the forest against my will. Almost makes me wonder, Yang."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yang seemed a bit taken aback for a moment as she took note of the strange stiffness in Akira's posture before it melted away as he laughed, "Seriously, what do you mean by that?"

"Nothing, sorry, a joke made in bad taste," Akira murmured after a moment, his lips pursed as he tried not to think about the revelations shared by Raven on the circumstances behind his counterparts birth, "I know I told you I like it when women are forceful, but I don't think this is what I meant. You're acting like a paranoid mother right now, Yang, and I don't understand why."

"Seriously though, Akira, it's dangerous for even trained Huntresses and Huntsmen in these woods, my dad has told me a lot of stories about students... biting off more than they can chew. I know what Ruby can do, but I've never seen you actually face Grimm before." Yang defended her reasoning after a moment, either arm crossing beneath her ample bosom, "I'd just rather be safe than sorry, you know?"

"I'm pretty sure there is a pile of Beowulf skulls near my fishing spot from the last bunch of Grimm that thought I looked tasty," Akira idly adjusted his jacket before shivering from the sudden harsh breeze that blew through the woods, "Alright, Yang, you've proven that you're willing to kidnap me to make sure I'm safe, so... I will only agree to accompany you _if_ I do it on my own two feet. Otherwise, I'll bend you over _my_ knee the next time you try and manhandle me before doing things my way."

Yang had to pretend she wasn't intimidated by the heavy look Akira gave her and instead span on her heel and began marching with both of her hands thrown behind her head victoriously, "Sure thing, little bro, whatever you say."

The following few minutes had been spent in relative silence with only Yang sometimes breaking the silence with random questions aimed at Akira and Blake both. Sometimes the questions seemed innocent enough, but there were a few interspersed in there that gave both black haired Faunus reasonable pause.

Sighing lowly, Yang forced her attention forward once more, her lilac eyes scanning the treeline for any glowing, red eyes to indicate the presence of Grimm. Finding none, as she had each time she scanned the woods so far, Yang did her best to keep her eyes from trailing to her younger brothers slim form once more and instead on who she assumed was her real partner, Blake Belladonna.

Stories from her youth told by her father over a campfire came to mind. She remembered the soft, warm look in his eyes when he spoke of the day he gained his partner, who ironically turned out to be her mother years after the fact. For years, she was raised to believe the moment would be magical, _fantastical_ , something that would stick for her for the rest of her life like it did him.

Instead of a magical moment shared between two future warriors, however, she had been accosted by her little brother mid flight after being launched into the Emerald Forest and introduced into the ground far before she intended.

It wasn't as if she minded who she first made eye contact with, but his reason for being in the forest seemed to be much different than hers and he wasn't quite as thrilled to be called her partner as she was his.

The sound of crunching sticks and leaves filled the forest to the right of the group of three, causing the teenagers to stop and share furtive glances between one another before they each assumed a combat position.

Blake's hand reached for the hilt of Gambol Shroud the moment Akira lowered his center of gravity and Yang readied her shotgun-gauntlets, Ember Celica. The three didn't have to wait long for their company to show itself, though the two figures slinking through the underbrush weren't quite who they were expecting.

With the sound of a happy gasp and a loud poof followed by a flurry of rose petals bursting into view, Yang watched her little sister slam into Akira from the side and send them both on a direct collision course with herself. Yang was quick to jump out of the way after realizing just how hard Ruby had collided with Akira from behind, not wanting anything to do with what would happen when they hit the ground.

Blake watched with her mouth drawn into a firm line as Akira was accosted by a flying meteorite known as Ruby Rose, leaving two of the three siblings in a situation reminisce of one she had been a part of ten minutes prior.

Pyrrha Nikos stepped from the woods a moment later with her hand held over her mouth to stifle her gasp in seeing the position her partner was in."Oh, hello again Yang, Blake... and Akira?"

"Ugh, you've got to be kidding me..." Akira groaned from his position on the ground, his voice barely audible due to being muffled by dirt covering his face from the impact, "Why me..."

"Yang, Akira! I'm so glad I found you!" Ruby gushed from her seating position on the small of Akira's back, bouncing twice in excitement before realizing her position and just where she was, "Oh, sorry, I think I got carried away again..."

"Ruby, my back..." Akira lifted his head from the ground and groaned due to the discomfort he felt in his entire body, leaving Ruby to quickly hop off his back before offering him a hand in assistance, "Thank you very much."

Accepting the offered hand, Ruby pulled her slim brother to his feet before wrapping both of her arms around his waist, a content smile on her face. "I thought you said you weren't coming to Beacon, you big, fat liar!"

"I promise I am not here to be a student, Ruby," Akira sighed as he brought his hand up to ruffle her hair, "It's Qrow's fault."

"That... makes sense," Ruby murmured thoughtfully as she pinned Akira with narrowed, silver eyes, "Are you sure you aren't just messing with me right now?"

Yang, after taking a few moments to collect herself after Ruby and Akira both removed themselves from the ground, finally spoke up after glancing around the forest once more, "You know, Ruby, you've really got to start warning people before you do something like that. I almost shot you, you know."

"Sorry, Yang..." Ruby mumbled while turning her glare away from Akira and instead lowering her eyes to her boots, "I'll try and work on it, I promise."

"I know you will, sis, no worries," Yang did her best to cheer her sister up quickly by wrapping Ruby into a tight hug, "Enough about that, I'm just glad you're safe. So, you and P-money, huh?" Yang gave the taller redhead a grateful smile after pulling away from the group hug she started upon feeling Akira begin to squirm uncomfortably, "I'm glad my little sister has a bad ass for a partner and not someone like that snooty silver haired chick, that would have been a nightmare and a half I'm sure."

"Oh, I'm sure it wouldn't have been _that_ bad," Pyrrha smiled lightly and gave Akira a small wave, "So, you aren't here to be a student, Akira?"

"Correct, Pyrrha," Akira inclined his head in her direction before glancing around at the four different females surrounding him on all sides, "I wouldn't really even be this far into the woods if Yang didn't decide to kidnap me. Blake is complicit in that she didn't help me escape, which I will remember, by the way."

The female bow wearing Faunus whistled innocently while rolling her eyes and glancing away, eliciting a small laugh from Akira as a result.

"Yang... kidnapped you?" Pyrrha questioned after a moment of comfortable silence, her gaze directed towards the blond instead of Akira, whom the question was directed at, "Why, exactly?"

"She thinks I can't handle my own," Akira rolled his eyes this time before shrugging his shoulders, "I only agreed to follow her if she stopped hauling me over her shoulder."

"Ah... I actually agree with her decision, Akira," Pyrrha seemed to consider what was said for a moment before nodding firmly, "It is our duty as Huntresses to see you through these trying times safely, after all, since you are a civilian, is it not?"

"You people..." Akira mumbled under his breath while leveling Pyrrha and Yang with disbelieving looks before both girls shot him a bright smile in return, "Alright, alright, lead the way then."

The group of five set off moments later once more with Akira positioned in the middle of their group. Yang took point and Pyrrha remained behind Akira while Ruby and Blake stood to his left and right respectively, cutting off all points of attack should the large group be ambushed on their way to the temple to obtain their relics.

Akira couldn't help but think that he would find himself in similar positions frequently in the future, especially with the way Ruby, Blake and Yang continued to send him furtive, protective glances over their shoulders.

"Girls, you _do_ know I don't need to be in the direct middle, right?"

His words fell upon deaf ears.

 **[PL]**

Between the outright slaughter of every Beowulf and Ursa-Minor in the path of the group of five, the trek towards the Forest Temple was just another walk through the woods as far as Akira was concerned. Yang and Blake both seemed to be competing with one another to see who could kill the most Grimm in the most brutal ways possible, thus drawing the attention of more enemies than Akira thought they would have faced should they have maintained their stealth.

Considering _he_ wasn't the one fighting like his life depended on it against, quite frankly, trivial opponents, Akira couldn't really find it in himself to say anything. Beyond his slight irritation at being stranded in the middle of a school outing he had no interest in participating in, Akira found himself slowly but surely coming to enjoy the time he got to spend with four of his newest friends and members of his inter-dimensional family unit.

Ruby had joined in the competition between Yang and Blake to try and one up the elder members of their temporary squad, further adding to the chaos that followed in their wake. Black ichor, dissolving bodies, felled trees, spent ammo casings and chipped bone plating was left in their wake, only reinforcing Akira's earlier statement.

Pyrrha had shown a surprising amount of restraint and remained firmly by Akira's right side, almost daring anything to try and get passed her as she glared at each and everything that leaped at them from the shadows before dispatching them viciously.

Akira learned many things about the females around him during the thirty minute trek through the woods, the main thing being that they were all some type of crazy and that he wasn't nearly as far behind the learning curve of his age group as he assumed he was. After fifteen minutes of observation, the former leader of the Phantom Thieves was able to discern Pyrrha's Semblance of polarity as well as gain a fair grasp on each of the four girls fighting styles.

In between the hyperactive antics of Ruby, the gung-ho attitude of Yang or the calm rage displayed by Blake when dispatching her foes should they stray too close to him, Akira filed each and every little sliver of information away for later usage, as he always did.

Conversation between the five had been rather light in between bouts of violence and slaughter, though Akira found himself participating a bit more than he thought he would, given his current mood. Midway through their movement towards the north, Akira had pretended to take a 'restroom break' in an effort to heal his aching arms out of sight of the four to avoid raising questions. The moment his arms started responding in the proper fashion, the former Joker took the time to switch from Kaguya to Yoshitsune.

While the increase to his Aura and Mana control was nice, Akira knew that he would likely be forced into direct combat at least once and prepared himself ahead of time. Due to the presence of Yang, Blake, Ruby and Pyrrha, Akira was unable to wield his Persona's Magic attacks willy-nilly, instead being forced to appear as if he were limited to his recently awakened Aura and skill alone.

The direct increase to his endurance and strength would off-set his lack of ranged techniques, something Akira had learned to count on time and time again in Mementos upon running low on ammunition and Mana alike. The frizzy haired teenager rejoined the four females currently escorting him through the forest a few moments after checking the link between Yoshitsune and himself once more, double checking the strength of the connection before he was satisfied.

The smell of decomposing leaves and dank woodland snuffed out the smell of ozone and heat as Yang, Blake and Ruby carved a path through the native Grimm population in an effort to outdo one another. Akira took note of the different types of trees located within the Emerald Forest, though none seemed too spectacular as far as aesthetics went.

Rumors of the extremely sweet sap produced by the trees within Forever Falls had reached his ears a few times through his customer base, and with the close proximity to the two woodlands, Akira was sure some form of crossbreeding had taken place somewhere around the Emerald Forest.

After what seemed like miles of walking with only the din of combat and the echoes of gunfire to grace their ears, the group of five found themselves stepping into a rather large clearing where a large stone structure similar to Stonehenge stood. Pedestals with what appeared to be chess pieces lined the outer most circle of the abandoned structure covered in ancient carvings and overgrowth, though the items meant little to Akira.

"This seems like the place," Yang stretched and placed her arms behind her head as she moved forward to take a look at the many objects placed around the temple, "Akira, which one should I pick?"

"You should be asking Blake, Yang, not me," Akira sighed before glancing around at the many different pieces still left over until his eyes settled upon Yang once more, who was giving him a very blank look until he finally gave her an answer, "Just grab the Knight."

"Er... which one is that?" Yang posed her second question after a tense moment of silence, a small frown on her face as she glanced around once more, "Oh, look, a pony!"

Ruby appeared by her side moments later to claim a pony of her own, ignoring the look Akira was giving them completely. Pyrrha's smile became slightly tighter as she and Akira both fought the urge to speak up, the frizzy haired teenager eventually failing first.

"That's the Knight, Yang..." Akira trailed off before glancing at Blake, "You really should speak up before she decides for the two of you."

"It doesn't matter to me, honestly," Blake shrugged apathetically before glancing around the clearing herself, "Chess doesn't interest me."

"Anything not revolving around smut or tuna doesn't interest you Blake, this is no surprise to me," Akira commented idly as he passed Yang and Blake both before making his way towards the right hand of the clearing, "It's alright, I don't hold it against you."

"I was hoping you would, though," Blake murmured lowly, almost too low for Akira to hear before changing the subject quickly, "We got what we came for, let's move before we attract another pack of Beowulves."

"Hey, who-" Yang was cut off from speaking as the sound of something rapidly approaching filled the clearing, as did joyful whoops and hollers with them.

"Hey, it's Big Boss and his goons! Hey Big Boss!" Nora shouted while waving excitedly to the group of five as she and Ren rode past them on the back of an Ursa-Minor, "Hold on, this is our stop!"

Nora raised her weapon, a mighty hammer that looked to weigh even more than she did, just as she and Ren rounded the corner, cutting off the groups view of the strange pair that rode in on their Grimm steed.

A loud explosion rang out seconds later, as did the psychotic giggling of Nora and the tired sigh of a defeated Ren, causing the large group to spare glances among one another as they waited for the two newest members to show themselves.

"Well, well, well! I thought you weren't going to come to Beacon with us, Big Boss? Change your mind at the last second?" Nora questioned loudly as she skipped around the only standing wall of the Temple with her weapon held aloft on her shoulder, "Not that I'm surprised or anything, Beacon does seem pretty cool so far."

"Sorry, Nora, just at the wrong place at the wrong time I guess," Akira shrugged apathetically at the disbelieving stare Nora leveled at him, "I'm actually being serious, as odd as it sounds."

"You just happen to be in the Emerald Forest _just_ in time for Initiation, huh?" Nora squinted her eyes harder at Akira before she smiled brightly and shrugged her shoulders, "That's bullshit, but I believe it."

"Language, Nora," Ren tapped her on the back of the head lightly as he approached from behind, his weapons completely hidden from view while Nora's remained on the ready, "I thought we were doing so well, too. Hello, Akira and... everyone."

Akira nodded in Ren's direction as his way of returning the magenta eyed warriors greeting before he turned his attention to the tree line once more. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something and wished for a moment that he could enhance his sight further than it already was to get a better look before he groaned and palmed his forehead.

 _'Right, Third Eye... Let's hope it still works,'_ Akira thought to himself before pouring Mana into his eyes as Igor had taught him just after they first met, only to stifle a gasp in shock upon remembering just how vivid the world became under the ethereal ability, ' _Oh yeah, it still works alright...'_

Glancing around the clearing with clarity most would be hard pressed to match, Akira took note of the glowing footprints trailing all around the ruin scattered clearing before turning his gaze to Blake and Yang. Taking an involuntary step back, Akira was forced to avert his gaze after Yang sent him a curious look after catching him staring.

"Hey, are your... eyes glowing?" Yang questioned as she took a step towards Akira, only for him to snap his eyes towards her once more to reveal they weren't, "Huh, must have been a trick of the light... Anyway, see anything interesting?"

"Nothing so far..." Akira trailed off before adjusting his jacket once more after another harsh breeze blew through the clearing, the faint echoes of a scream carried on the wind following in its path, "That... was ominous."

"Blake was right, we should get moving," Pyrrha noted after glancing around the woods surrounding the Ruins a bit more wearily than before, her stance lower than before while her shield and spear were held at the ready, "I don't think wasting any more time is in anyone's interest."

Murmurs of agreement echoed through the group of seven before they motioned towards the same direction Akira and his four bodyguards came from. Once more, Akira found himself wedged in a larger circle than before, but he kept his sarcastic comments to himself and instead took a moment to appreciate the feeling of being surrounded by so many other people his age once more. Even knee deep in problems he didn't want nor need, Akira couldn't help but marvel at how infectious the hyperactive laughter of Nora and Ruby was, despite the screams and cries that carried on the winds steadily.

"We should make towards the river and then follow it south, it's bound to be quicker and less wooded near the shoreline." Blake pointed out after a moment, her eyes perking up at the sound of running water, "The map showed the cliffs running parallel with the river about three miles south of where the ruins were situated."

"Wow, you're quick to take the lead, aren't you Blake?" Yang sauntered up beside the black haired Faunus before throwing an arm around her shoulder, "I like that in a woman."

Blake rolled her eyes and proceeded to shrug Yang's arm off before increasing her pace a bit to put some space between the two, "We should really hurry before the sun starts to set... some of us can't see in the dark as well as others, after all."

She had glanced over her shoulder at Akira as she said this, taking note of the haunting glow that was emanating outwards from the two crimson pools of blood she had slowly grown used to envisioning piercing her through and through. His eyes were darting left and right, however, before settling somewhere just over his right shoulder.

Just as quickly as she noted the strange glow, however, it faded, as did Akira's presence as he quickly leaped over Ren and Nora, who had taken up his right side, before dashing into the woods almost frantically, his weapon held at the ready all the while.

"What the- Akira, where are you going?" Yang shouted out as she watched her younger brothers body quickly melt into the shadows of the forest and disappear from her sight, "What the hell?"

"Wait for me, Big Boss!" Nora shouted exuberantly as she quickly snatched Ren's arm and proceeded to drag him in the same direction Akira disappeared towards, "I wanna go explore too!"

Blake didn't need to say a word as she and Yang both followed behind Ren and Nora with Ruby and Pyrrha hot on their heels, the young Reaper bypassing the group of five easily.

 _'Something spooked him,'_ Blake thought to herself as she leaped over a fallen tree, the sound of something meaty shattering glass or perhaps ice growing louder and louder in her feline ears as the group moved, _'Akira, I sure hope you are as skilled with that weapon as you look...'_


	23. Remarkably Human

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ __ _ **2**_ _ **3,**_ _ **Remarkably Human**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 **[PL]**

Weiss Schnee was on her last leg, her breathing haggard and blood pouring from a deep gash upon her forehead. The last of her Aura had been used to encase herself and her partner, Jaune Arc, within a dome of ice to keep the massive Beringel Grimm currently bashing away at the large dome from devouring them both.

Wincing, the SDC Heiress couldn't help but ponder how she found herself in such a terrible position in the first place and the series of events that lead up to what she knew in the pit of her stomach would be her final moments on Remnant. All of them revolved around the unconscious blond behind her, the foolhardy knight having been far too slow to avoid a blow that by all means should have killed him instead of putting him down for the fight, but she wasn't displeased with his survival so far.

From the moment she had arrived at Beacon, things hadn't gone quite as well as she wanted. In between being accosted by the blond knight she found herself partnered with twice in the span of a few hours, the constant chatter of the hyperactive redhead and her blond sister had kept her up all night and prevented her from getting the proper rest needed for Initiation the following morning.

Preparing for the test had gone splendidly for the heiress, having found the bathroom unoccupied long enough to bathe in peace before the crowds mulled in and sullied the recently cleaned floors. The silent morning and easily retrieval of her gear had put her in quite the chipper mood, or as chipper a mood someone of the Schnee line was capable of being.

Catching the crimson haired hoplite, Pyrrha Nikos, unawares had certainly heightened her mood further, especially when it seemed negotiations for their partnership were going as she planned before the blond dunce named Jaune Arc once more approached her, attempting to woo her with his false bravado and suave smile. Distracted as she was in her telling off of the blond, she missed Pyrrha slipping away with her newest rival, Ruby Rose, as a result.

Her mood spiraled downwards from there as she found herself standing next to Jaune during their launch into the Emerald Forest, something that shouldn't have been allowed in the least due to how woefully unprepared the blond had seemed.

From launch until touchdown had been a nightmare, especially when the massive Nevermore flying near her was shot in the face multiple times by different students hard enough to send it directly into her flight path, forcing her to use her semblance to correct her trajectory and put her directly on a collision course with, you guessed it, Jaune Arc.

The blond knight hadn't been prepared for the impact in the least and used what little reflexes he seemed to have to latch onto her and prevent her from using her Semblance with any real effeciency, resulting in the two smashing through multiple thick branches near the canopy of the Emerald Forest before impacting the dank earth below like a meteorite.

The nightmare was only beginning for Weiss by that point, however, upon discovering just how badly injured the blond had become as a result of their fall. Blood had been leaking from the corner of his mouth and his right arm, likely his sword arm from the way he carried his sword on the left side of his hip, seemed to be twisted and mangled in a way that even she had a hard time looking at. Despite being thoroughly desensitized to death and the like due to her past, the blond was a gruesome sight to say the least.

She couldn't quite comprehend why his Aura wasn't working to heal his wounds or at least prevent the damage from being accrued in the first place, even posing that exact question to the boy, only to have her world rocked when he expressed complete ignorance on the subject in between bouts of coughing up blood.

Just as she was about to begin the process of forcefully awakening his Aura, the blond slipped into a deep unconsciousness that worried the silverette greatly, especially considering just how harsh the impact with the earth had been with Jaune receiving most of the damage due to his position below her. There was little doubt in Weiss's mind that Jaune had received a nasty concussion as well as broken bones and damaged internal organs as a result of the increased weight behind his descent.

There had been multiple studies done on the process of awakening ones Aura, and it had been proven time and time again that doing so while the recipient was unconscious was impossible even in a laboratory under perfect conditions. Linking ones soul with another and dragging their internal strength to the surface required a deep connection to form between the awakener and the awakee, something that couldn't be established should one be unconscious or comatose. Weiss waited with bated breath to see if he would wake up soon enough for the two to move to a safer location, but her hopes were dashed when it became apparent he wouldn't be waking up before the Grimm arrived.

Moving him was out of the question due to her being unaware of the extent of his injuries, though she had sense of mind enough to lean down and listen for his shallow breathing before deciding if she would abandon him or not.

Should he have already perished from his injuries, Weiss saw no reason to keep herself in harms way to prevent his body from being desecrated by Humanities oldest foe, though it was a moot point when she discovered that he was still breathing. Listening closely, the silver haired heiress could tell that he had blood leaking into his lungs due to the raspy wheeze she could hear as he exhaled.

This resulted in Weiss being trapped between a rock and a hard place, standing over the unconscious and perhaps slowly dying body of Jaune Arc while doing her absolute best to keep him defended as the Grimm started to swarm their position. The first few minutes hadn't been all that terrible and she had almost convinced herself that the worst was over.

She was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong.

The first Grimm to reach her had been a smaller pack of Beowulves with no apparent Alpha in sight, easily dispatched before they became too much of a problem. It was only when the Boarbatusks began to storm in that Weiss began to have a difficult time fending off both types of Grimm, Myrtenaster weaving damage and death alike as quickly as it could be swung.

Five minutes of continuous combat saw Weiss finally taking enough damage to drain her Aura to dangerous levels, a deep orange bordering red bar flashing on her Scroll when she dared to glance at it before continuing her fight.

The Beowulves had been mostly dealt with by the time her Aura finally reached critical levels, though her desperation to keep herself and Jaune alive seemed to draw a continuous stream of the terrible beasts towards her location. Weiss knew something was wrong when the Boarbatusks all turned their attention to the same direction before the swine-like Grimm made themselves scarce and fled the clearing, leaving the SDC heiress and her unconscious partner alone in the small section of woods that the two landed in for just a moment.

Hoping against hope, the silverette had done her best to regain her breath before turning her attention towards Jaune once more, only for the sound of toppling trees and the thick underbrush being forced out of the way of something massive to reach her ears.

The feeling of her heart beating in her throat was all that Weiss could focus on as a massive, lumbering figure twice as tall as she was and four times as broad tore through the Emerald Forest at a tremendous rate. The towering Grimm knocked saplings aside and ripped the brush before them from the earth, tossing each aside on its war path. Weiss knew that the beast was there for her, the desperation and negativity seeping from her body in waves likely enough to summon such a massive being to her and Jaune's location.

The fight for her life had gone about as well as expected up until the point she ran out of Burn Dust, the large gouts of flame wafting from Myrtenaster barely enough to strike at the ingrained fear of fire all beasts held within them before the Grimm overcame said nature. From that point on, Weiss relied on her Ice Dust and Gravity Dust to keep the Beringel at bay while using as little of her dwindling Aura as possible.

Weiss had begun to toss around the idea of abandoning Jaune to his fate to save her hide prior to expending all of her remaining Aura in creating a barrier strong enough to give her a few minutes reprieve, though the idea was quickly tossed aside with stinging anger aimed at herself all the while.

 _'You came to Beacon to step from F-Jacques's shadow, not emulate his behavior! What would Winter think of me, sacrificing the idiot to save myself?!'_ Weiss chastised herself before doing her best to steel her nerves and face her fate, _'I... I don't want to die here, but I knew what I was getting myself into.'_

This mantra continued in her head until the Beringel began to slam its fists into the ice dome erected around the two Human's. The already strong onset of panic being held at bay by Adrenalin began to surge forward in Weiss's mind as small cracks began to spread upon the surface of the dome, only growing larger and larger with each blow.

 _'Please, no... please, please!'_ Weiss began to chant in her head as the heavy fists of the Grimm kept coming.

The cracks had spread to the central point of the dome and slowly, Weiss could feel the fragile foundation of frozen water keeping her and Jaune alive crumble. Pieces of shattered ice began to fall like powder into her hair, coating her beaten and slightly bloodied body with white, snowy crystals and unto Jaune's unconscious body alike.

Her eyes tightened into pinpricks as she watched the beast rear its fists back for one last, mighty blow through a large gap in the ice, her breathing having ceased in fear as she made eye contact with the beast directly for the first time. She knew that it knew she was on her last leg, made evident by the savage, almost pleased grin on the face of the beast that was wholly out of place.

Memories of her childhood came pouring through the cracks of her weakened mind, addled by the fighting and exhaustion setting in. A few pleasant memories of her mother and father were interspersed throughout the cacophony of her better memories returning in her final moments to comfort her, though most seemed to be focused on her elder sister, Winter, and her butler Klein.

"Please, Gods, I don't want to die..." Weiss whispered as she watched the fist set itself on a collision course with her body, unable to clench her eyes shut to spare herself the agony of seeing her death coming and knowing there was nothing she could do to stop it.

A flash of bright light in her peripheral vision and the sharp sound of metal slicing through the air faintly greeting her ears were the only signs that someone had arrived in time to watch her final moments.

Just before the fist of the Beringel smashed through the dome, multiple beams of light pierced through its body and cast a luminous glow upon the darkened section of the Emerald Forest instantly. The Grimm's fist was knocked off course and greatly weakened as it skimmed across the outer edge of the dome and shattered it completely.

Ice crystals, both in large chunks and powdered dust, rained down and captured stray beams of light cascading from the thoroughly pierced body of the Beringel before reflecting them randomly through the forest, a kaleidoscope of white and silver basking her in its radiance.

More beams of light appeared from the corner of her eyes before goring through the body of the Grimm and throwing it further off course before a figure clad in all black descended from the sky with an equally black blade in motion. With one clean stroke, the head of the Beringel was removed from its massive frame and rolled to a stop at her feet, already starting to disintegrate before it could even impact the ground.

Glancing from the now dissolving head of the enemy that almost claimed her life towards the direction she knew her savior stood, Weiss felt her heart skip a beat as she found herself staring deeply into molten, golden and crimson eyes enshrined in azure flames shaped like a mask. Due to how addled her mind had been by exhaustion, the silver haired Huntress in training couldn't quite recognize who she was looking at.

The still glowing spears of light stabbed into the body of the Grimm illuminated the form of the figure before her even further, giving him an almost divine appearance as he held a hand towards her, palm forward. A green light erupted from his hand, pale in color with silverish hues slipping through the writhing jade.

" _Are you well, Miss Schnee?"_ His voice was as smooth as the cream he served with his coffee, washing over her and causing her hair to stand at attention from the rush of elation and familiarity she felt.

Was she well? She wasn't sure, but she knew she certainly felt safer now than ever before in her life. Her prayers had been answered, but she wasn't expecting an angel to have to fall to reach her in time.

" _Don't worry, you're safe now,_ " Her avenging angel whispered softly as he leaned his lithe, leather clad form over hers, his hands glowing a beautiful, bountiful green, " _I need you to stay with me, don't go to sleep."_

Weiss tried to keep her eyes open, but couldn't help but fall deep into the embrace of the being before her as he reached out to catch her, his radiant light seeping into her and lulling her into a slumber she feared she wouldn't wake from.

Another feeling encased her just as she started to slip away, one she would later ascribe to her mind playing tricks on her. _'Is this what_ _Heaven feels like?'_

 **[PL]**

Blake knelt next to the blond that the Schnee heiress had been protecting as Akira allowed the green light erupting from his palms to wash over the white armored figure, her lips pursed in thought as she tried to process the scene that played out before her only seconds prior.

Akira rushing into the forest had caused the large gathering of students who took it upon themselves to escort him to safety to spring after him, though only Blake and Ruby stood any chance of actually keeping up with him. The way he moved through the trees such as vaulting over obstacles that even Blake had a hard time with and weaving through the thick branches of the trees surrounding them made for a terrifying sight, especially when she caught sight of his burning, crimson eyes becoming slowly wreathed in azure flames.

Throwing his right hand forward, Akira had called upon what Blake assumed was his Semblance before launching massive javelins of glowing white light into the forest blindly. She had assumed they were thrown blindly, of course, until moments later. Leaping onto a branch just above them, Akira launched himself forward like a rocket before drawing his blade and decapitating a massive type of Grimm that Blake had only heard talked about in passing.

It was one of the most beautiful displays of skill Blake had ever seen, his prowess with the blade certainly far greater than she had hoped to see from him. With one clean stroke, the frizzy haired shop owner removed the head of a foe that she would have been hard pressed to face alone.

He landed on his feet and was moving towards the two downed Humans covered in icy powder with his hand extended before said appendage and Weiss herself began to glow the same shade of green. With a critical eye, Blake was able to watch the wounds visible on the heavily battered heiress fade to nothing, leaving pristine, unmarred flesh within moments to show through the heavy coating of blood still soaking her body and clothing.

The female Faunus wasn't sure how to explain what she was seeing as he knelt next to the wounded blond she thought was named James or something similar, his healing light working to seal the many wounds upon the unconscious teenagers body in just a few bats of her lashes. The gnarled, twisted right arm of the blond let out a sickening crunch as it seemingly corrected itself, a brief flash of discomfort appearing on the unconscious teenagers face before fading away just as quickly.

Blake couldn't help but become a bit uncomfortable with the scene playing out before her, forcing her to avert her gaze as Akira sliced through the hoodie sleeve and removed the heavy gloves on his hands to get a better look at the blonds wounds. On one hand, she was very pleased to know that Akira could, indeed, hold his own against even the more terrifying Grimm, but on the other, Blake was deeply confused.

If his Semblance was related to Hard-Light, for that was the only thing she could think of that would explain the spears he summoned, how was he capable of healing Weiss and Jaune as well? Just how much experience did Akira have in combat? How did he discover his Semblance so soon after just having his Aura unlocked, and just how did he come to wield his Aura so skillfully, so quickly?

The more Blake thought on the subject, the more confused she became and the more questions she felt arise. With a quick, cursory glance around the clearing, now secure and Grimm free thanks to the efforts of the rest of their large group, Blake could tell she wasn't the only one with questions, Yang, Ruby and Pyrrha watching the scene unfold with morbid curiosity and no small amount of confusion as well.

The ebony haired Faunus opened her mouth to speak after the green glow died down to nothing, though Akira gave her a sharp glance that forced her to shut her mouth just as quickly within moments.

"Alright, they are both stable... for now, "Akira began as he rose from the body of Jaune before shrugging off his slightly tattered jacket and lifting Weiss's prone form a bit to slip it around her body to give her a bit more modesty, "We need to move before the blond ones condition worsens. Pyrrha, you're the most gentle here, will you please carry him back to Beacon?"

"Of course," Pyrrha nodded at once, turning from her position around the edge of the clearing before making her way to the male unconscious teenager, "Leave it to me, Akira."

"Thank you," Akira gave her a small, tense smile before turning his attention to the rest of the group, "Nora, Yang, you two take point, Ruby, you're with me and Pyrrha in the middle, Blake and Ren, you two take rear guard, let's move."

No one thought fit to argue and quickly fell into their positions before the group set off, Weiss cradled in Akira's arms bridal style with Jaune being held in a similar position by Pyrrha. Using a spare magnetic clip supplied by Blake, Akira was able to fasten both Yatagarasu and Myrtenaster to either side of his hips while Pyrrha had no problems in carrying another blade on her person, most likely Jaune's due to the proximity of the weapon to his resting spot on the ground.

 **[PL]**

Thanks to the renewed pace at which the group traveled, the eight students and one unfortunate civilian found themselves at the top of Beacons cliffs far sooner than they expected. Pyrrha had easily carried herself and Jaune upwards towards the apex of the cliff, scaling the face of the rocky slope with little to no effort involved at all and making it look far, far easier than it was for Akira.

Despite being well versed in the arts of parkour and other methods of increased mobility, scaling a vertical surface with a silver haired teenager tied to his back using a small length of Blake's black ribbon was nerve wracking, to say the least.

It wasn't quite the climb that grated on Akira's nerves, however, but what awaited him at the top of the cliffs face.

"So you've finally decided to stop playing coy, Akira?" Ozpin questioned with a tilted brow and a raise of his mug as his form of greeting as the teenager finally rose to his feet after unstrapping his Weiss-pack from his back, "I knew I'd win you over eventually, though I wasn't expecting to see you dressed in such a way when I did."

"Don't flatter yourself, old man," Akira snarked as he straightened his back and ignored the scandalized look Glynda was giving him over his lack of a shirt, "I am _not_ in the mood right now. This doesn't count, you know."

"Oh, I beg to differ, Akira, I beg to differ," Ozpin tapped his cane against the ground twice before turning his attention to the other, conscious members of his small entourage, "It does my heart well to see that the next generation is not only talented in combat, but compassionate in nature."

While his comment was aimed at Akira, the others with him perked up at the offhanded compliment given to them by the very man that said they lacked proper drive just the day prior.

"Glynda here will get you students situated now that you've completed your Initiation, please follow her instructions as best you can. Come, Akira, we need to have a little... chat." Ozpin made it clear by the pointed look he was giving the frizzy haired teenager that it was more of a request than a demand, despite being stated as such.

"Wait, he isn't in any trouble, is he?" Yang stepped forward and quickly made her way to Akira's side, as did Blake, Ruby, Nora and Pyrrha, "I know he wasn't suppos-"

"Worry not, Miss Xiao Long, Mister Kurusu here is in no trouble at all," Ozpin grinned wryly before taking a deep drought from his coffee mug, "Quite the opposite, in fact. If not for his quick actions, two promising students of mine would have had their lives snuffed before their talents could be realized."

Sending a pensive glance over his shoulder at the large group of friends who came to his defense, Akira couldn't help but smile and assuage their worries when it became clear that Yang didn't quite believe Ozpin. "It's fine, Yang, I knew something like this would have happened sooner or later."

"Are you sure...?" The buxom blond trailed off, shifting her weight from one leg to another before nodding firmly, "Alright, but you and me are going to be having a long, long conversation later, you hear?"

Sighing heavily and nodding his head in faux agreement, Akira allowed his carmine gaze to travel over the forms of the six conscious members of their large group before speaking once more. "Thank you for escorting me through the Emerald Forest, I appreciate it."

"Even if it was... wholly unnecessary?" Blake questioned with a tone Akira couldn't quite place, a single brow tilted in confusion.

Watching him turn a Beringel, of all Grimm, into a pincushion before decapitating it in one clean stroke had certainly painted Akira in a far different light than before as far as Blake was concerned, only adding to the growing desire she had tried her best to ignore.

"Even then," Akira nodded to reaffirm his statement before turning back to Ozpin once more, "I have a feeling I'm going to be seeing you all later, one way or another. Try to relax, you've fought hard."

A glance in Ozpin's direction saw the two split from the large group of students, leaving the six teenagers to watch as the two mens form disappeared slowly in the distance with only Glynda to keep them company.

Gently lifting both Jaune and Weiss using her Semblance, Glynda turned her attention to the large group before clearing her throat lightly to get their attention. "Please follow me, we have prepared temporary lodgings for you to rest until the Naming Ceremony commences. This way."

Before any of the students could protest, Glynda spun on her heels and began marching in a completely different direction than Akira and Ozpin, leaving the six to shuffle behind her tiredly with more than a few questions weighing heavily on their minds.

 **[PL]**

The sound of thousands of gears turning and ticking away above him was almost distracting enough to give Akira a headache, but not nearly enough to stop his pacing as he laced either hand behind his back.

Akira and Ozpin had been silent for the last fifteen minutes after the two had finally arrived at the uppermost floor of the large tower located on Beacons campus, an uncomfortable silence to say the least.

The illustrious Headmaster didn't seem to mind said silence, of course, instead sipping away at his coffee as if all were right in the world, something that was most certainly not the case. It, too, grated on the nerves of the recently felinified teenager at just how nonplussed the man was with how close two of his would be students had come to biting the dust.

Blake had made sure to make sure Akira knew the risks Huntsmen and Huntresses would have to take to pass Beacons classes and just what types of missions they would be expected to partake in as a result. It hadn't been easy for him to wrap his mind around, but he had eventually learned to keep his opinions to himself as far as the usage of child soldiers went, given the circumstances and whatnot.

Remnant wasn't a friendly place to live, and a few eggs needed to be cracked for the whole nest to remain safe. It didn't matter if the eggs cracked happened to be heavily armed teenagers barely trained in the arts of self restraint or wizened elders prepared to face their fates head on.

It was all of this combined that kept Akira from rounding on the middle aged Headmaster and ripping him a new one, verbally and physically, for his inaction in the face of the near deaths of Weiss Schnee and her blond partner.

"You seem on edge, Akira. Perhaps I could serve _you_ a cup of coffee instead?" Ozpin tilted a brow as he gestured to the strangely phallus shaped chair before his desk, "Please, at least take a seat, you're making me tired with all of your pacing."

Akira pursed his lips slightly before turning to take the offered chair, no matter how much Akira disliked the general shape of it.

"Why am I here, Ozpin? Please don't beat around the bush, give it to me straight." Akira felt the need to cut down the chitchat before it could begin, already knowing how much the grey haired man loved his mindless small talk.

"I think we both know why I've asked you to come here, Akira, don't act like you aren't an intelligent man." Ozpin, too, felt the need to roll his eyes at the black haired teenagers attempt at getting out of the long overdue conversation about to happen, "But I suppose we can jump straight into it if you are in such a rush."

Akira nodded his head rather firmly, enough so to cause his hair to bounce slightly before settling once more.

"I wish to know how it is you've gained the ability to use Magic." Ozpin spoke up after a few moments, tapping away at something on his Scroll before a holographic screen popped up above it, "I have video evidence to back my claims, if you feel the need to argue."

Akira watched as quite a few familiar scenes played out before him, though from a perspective that was not his own. Quick clips ranging from his first encounter with the Beowulves of the Emerald Forest to his most recent execution of the Beringel played out before him, causing him to draw his lips downward into a frown.

"I understand that you must have desired to keep this... ability of yours to yourself, but it would probably alleviate you to know you are amongst kindred spirits." Ozpin finally spoke once more after the room fell into another bout of uncomfortable silence, the feline teenager before the Headmaster refusing to open his mouth to either affirm nor deny the mans claims.

The look of confusion that flashed across Akira's face was question enough to elicit another response from the Headmaster, this one a bit more encouraging than the previous one.

"I, too, wield the ability to use Magic, as do a few others across the lands. I'd like for you to work for me, Akira, help me save Remnant from the darkness eating away at Humanities light."

Ozpin wasn't prepared for Akira to laugh, let alone stand from his seated position, lean over his desk before proceeding to do so in his face. Loudly.


	24. Lines in the Sand

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ __ _ **2**_ _ **4**_ _ **,**_ _ **Lines in the Sand**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 **[PL]**

Ozpin was usually a very hard man to fluster, hundreds of thousands of years of living and nearly as many deaths having desensitized the man to irrational displays of emotion, but having Akira stand up, lean over his desk and proceed to laugh in his face was enough to cause him to lose his cool for a moment.

"Why are you laughing? This is no joking matter, young man." Ozpin's voice echoed quite a bit as he spoke, though it did nothing to intimidate the younger being before him. The ticking of the many gears above them seemed muffled when compared to the strength of the gray haired mans voice.

Akira was hardly phased by the expression of irritation by the man he was currently laughing at.

If anything, it served to make him laugh harder.

After a moment, the elder Headmaster simply leaned back in his chair and waited for Akira to finish, knowing that there was only a limited amount of time he could laugh like he was before running out of breath and breaking a sweat.

Lo and behold, a minute later Akira was forced to sit due to pain in his sides, though it did little to quiet his still plentiful chuckles.

"Are you quite done, Mister Kurusu?" Ozpin drawled, lacing either of his hands together before his face as he leaned forward slightly once more, "We have much to discuss, as you now know, so may we proceed or do you need more time?"

"Forgive me, the past few days have been rather... trying, on my patience, today especially." The younger man spoke slowly as his laughter began to die down, his voice a bit more weary than his body language allowed. "Let me be clear... I do not have the time, the resources nor the energy to devote to something as grand as 'saving the world', if such a thing is even possible. Perhaps if you had approached me with this offer a few years from now, my answer might have been different, but for now I cannot devote even an iota of strength to your cause."

"And through all of that, you have yet to affirm nor deny the usage, or existence, of Magic." Ozpin pointed out, completely ignoring the feline teenagers refusal to join him on his long mission to end the Grimm threat, "You would think someone ignorant on the subject would be quicker to question _that_ particular revelation of mine rather than the other portion of my request. It almost makes me think..."

Akira shrugged his shoulders before holding the hand clasping his jaw towards Ozpin slowly, his palm facing the gray haired man.

"Want to see a Magic trick, then?" Akira questioned after a moment, his face schooled completely blank as he watched Ozpin across the desk between them.

The Headmaster didn't hesitate to nod his head in affirmation.

"Touryou." Akira spoke a single word, one that he spoke quite often in Mementos as he used one of the 'skills' taught to him by Hifumi, a friend he was sure he would never see again.

With a swift swing of his hand downwards, Akira flung what appeared to be a small black sphere at the desks surface, perhaps with a bit too much gusto. Shrapnel sprung into the air at the same time a bright flash of light and a crack of noise erupted from the shattering sphere.

The shrapnel kicked up from the initial small puff of compressed air began to reflect the light created by the chemical reaction around the room almost like a disco ball. Said light blinded the Headmaster, who almost instinctively knew what Akira was going to do when the small ball left the palm of his hand.

When Ozpin opened his eyes again mere seconds later, the feline teenager was nowhere to be seen.

It was his sudden disappearance that bothered the man the most as he leaned back in his chair while bringing his mug to his lips once more, only to pause and look down at the liquid in disappointment. Small particles of reflective material floated on the surface before sinking into the depths of black, rendering the beverage unfit for consumption.

"Now you owe me a cup of coffee _and_ an explination..." Ozpin murmured thoughtfully as he attempted to bring up the video surveillance feed that was constantly running in his office.

Attempting being the key word, as all evidence of Akira's disappearance were covered by the intense flash of light created by his little bomb.

"If _that_ isn't Magic, I don't know what is." The ancient being hummed as he noted that none of the windows in his office nor the elevator had been accessed during Akira's escape. "If I didn't have so much to attend to, I wouldn't let you go that easy, young man."

 **[PL]**

Akira would have returned straight to Leblanc Deux after his rather short talk with Ozpin, but he knew retrieving his bike should be done sooner rather than later. Thankfully, it seemed to be in the same condition he left it in, and a quick scan of his thumb print allowed the engine to roar to life without the need for the lost keys he usually kept on his person.

It was always good to have redundant systems in place to prevent tragedies, such as losing the only set of keys he had to his pride and joy. When he returned home, he would remove the lost set of keys from the system that controlled his engine, preventing them from being used by whomever may have picked them up.

He wouldn't enjoy it if his creep of a mother or his drunkard of an uncle hoisted his keys and took his bike hostage for his attention. With how everyone seemed to be competing to have him in their corner, he wouldn't be surprised by anything those two would attempt.

Pulling away from his current fishing spot with barely concealed eagerness to return home, the young Faunus made the trip home one of his quickest yet. Ten minutes after pulling away from one edge of the inner Kingdom, he returned to the central portions of the rather small city to his home far away from home.

Haru and Futaba were already waiting for him to return, most likely due to the surveillance cameras the younger female constantly monitored out of the corner of her eye while browsing the Web of Remnant.

"Akira!" Futaba seemed both angry and happy to see him at once, something he already knew would be a problem for him within the next few moments of his life, "Where the heck have you been?! You wouldn't answer your Scroll, you wouldn't-"

" _Futaba, I'll explain later,"_ Akira shook his head in the negative while speaking in their native tongue, causing the smaller being to pause her ranting to listen as he shuffled off his bike slowly, _"I am too tired to explain, but don't trust the Raven, the Crow or the Headmaster."_

" _What does THAT mean?"_ Futaba questioned hotly as Akira stepped past them just as slowly as he crawled off of his bike, _"The black birds?"_

" _Yes, the birds, especially if they have red eyes."_ The frizzy haired shop owner spoke once more, this time his voice lilting slightly as he made it into Leblanc proper, _"I was kidnapped by my so called mother after a little... spar, with my 'uncle', then was dropped into the middle of Beacon Academy's stupid initiation test. It was a small chain of very unfortunate events."_

" _So that's where you've been?"_ Haru spoke up this time, her gentle voice almost soothing to Akira's ears after the adrenaline began to finally wear off, _"I was getting... worried, and you know just how little I like to worry."_

The unspoken threat in her voice was not lost upon Akira, no matter how tired he was. There was very little he wanted to do with upsetting the fluffy haired teenager, especially knowing how little it took for her psychosis to come to the surface.

" _I couldn't really call, Haru, I'm sorry. The wilds of Mistral don't have that good of reception, I've found."_ Akira groaned as he shrugged off the long coat around his shoulders before slumping into one of the seats at his counter, _"Can one of you please bring me a bottle of cold coffee? I'll love you forever..."_

" _Who are you kidding? You already love us!"_ Futaba was still upset with him, as made evident when she slammed the glass down in front of his slouched form with a bit more force than strictly necessary, _"How did you let yourself get kidnapped, Akira? That doesn't make any sense!"_

" _I pushed myself to Aural exhaustion in a so called 'spar' with my drunk uncle. It's nothing like running out of Magic in Mementos,"_ Akira explained as best he could after a few sips of his cold brew, _"Afterwards, my mothers creepy clone decided to kidnap me, teleport me half way across this desolate planet and try to explain her way out of a... situation. I don't even know where to begin on how messed up these past few days have been."_

" _I think that's all we needed to know,"_ Haru placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder, not wanting the only man she would ever call 'Leader' to stress himself further, _"We can always iron out the details after you get some rest, so let's get you upstairs."_

Akira didn't feel like there were any flaws in Haru's logic and allowed himself to be 'helped', or manhandled, into bed by a smiling psychopath and his little sister in all but blood.

Being wrapped in a blanket like a burrito while having his ears petted did little to settle the questions in his head or the troubles weighing on his shoulders. For all of their strength together, Akira almost doubted the three's ability to survive the wilds of Remnant and the many players on the board alone.

For not the first time, the raven haired teenager wished dearly for his departed friends to return to the fold, or his fears about the survival of all he held dear would become reality. There was strength in numbers, and together, the Phantom Thieves defied the will of a God. Reunited, perhaps they could have their second chance at redemption.

Akira sighed lightly and tried to put his demons to rest, but they wouldn't leave him for the rest of the night. Crimson eyes stared blearily out at the coming dawn as the sun rose over Remnant once more. The light snores of Haru and much noisier snores of Futaba mixed well with the chirping of birds just outside his window, until he realized that his crimson eyes had locked onto a pair as equally red as his own.

"Go away."

The Raven shook her head in defiance.

 **[PL]**

Gunshots rang out over the desert dunes of Vacuo's Golden Grove, one of the few lands of the turbulent Kingdom's that had some form of law to it, as lax as they were. Unlike the Kingdom proper, the roving Warlords of Vacuo still held the dominant hold of the areas outside of the Kingdoms jurisdiction, many towns becoming mere serfdom's in service to causes they couldn't believe in.

Golden Grove was special in that many of the retired Huntsman and Huntresses from all four Kingdoms congregated together to create their own haven in the wilds, no longer content with fighting for the political gains of crooked politicians or just incapable of fighting all together.

Said little haven for Hunters, however, was one of the most frequent targets for raids by the roving Warlords or even small incursions from Huntsmen and Huntresses still loyal to Vacuo. Despite having the highest number of active Aura users in any area outside of the Academies, their strength was dwindling as the influx of malcontent fighters from the four Kingdoms began to dwindle.

The population was getting older, and the young were not prevalent among their flock in any fighting capacity save two. Out of the many families that had children, only one family ever gave their child permission to have their Aura unlocked while the other was a recent addition to their fold through adoption, so to speak.

"Bro, this is getting pretty annoying!" A loud voice called out over the sound of gunfire, "They just keep coming!"

"Bro, you know these folks won't learn the easy way!" An equally as loud voice called out from about ten feet away from the first's position, "We just have to make em' learn the hard way!"

"You aren't foolin', bro." The first voice answered back in a lighter tone as he leaped from his position behind a ruined wall on the outskirts of Golden Grove before diving head first back into the fray, his weapon spinning skillfully in his hand as he wound up his arm to deliver a heavy strike to the weapon arm of the first bandit he saw.

The loud snapping of bone hardly phased him as it would have only six months prior as he continued his weapons attack, using the momentum from the snap back from breaking the mans arm to wind up his second attack aimed at his skull.

Flying true through the air, the suddenly lengthening staff collided heavily with the mans cranium, dropping him instantly to the ground in either death or unconsciousness. The blond didn't have time to debate whether or not it was a murder, instead turning his attention to his next target as the ends of his staff opened and a handle protruded from near the middle of its length.

Gripped the handle, the blond aimed his weapon at the next man and squeezed the trigger twice, the kick of his weapon hardly noticeable with the large amounts of adrenaline running through his system.

That one he was sure was a murder.

As was the next, and the one after that.

When the bodies finally stopped coming, the blond allowed his weapon to rest as he stared out at the once golden sands bleeding crimson. The stench was strong in the air, reminding him how much his world had changed since he and his friends failed to commit Deicide.

"Try not to think about it, Bro."

The blond turned to face what may as well have been his twin, should he have had a tail and not golden ears atop his head.

"Yeah, no doubt, Bro. Let's get out of here, they can clean up after themselves when they get back from their so called 'raid'."

With a flick of his wrist, his shotgun-staff returned to its compressed form, though it felt as if it bore the weight of the world.

 **[PL]**

The next few days for Akira passed in a blur, and before he knew it, a week had passed since he was kidnapped by Raven and introduced to the concept of the world hidden beneath all of their noses.

The longer he dwelt on the subject, the more ludicrous it sounded in concept. Had he not bore abilities tied to his Persona or the capability of calling upon their Magic as his own, Akira would have been a bit more worried than he already was. Within a few days of closing the doors of Leblanc Deux for renovations, the three surviving members of the Phantom Thieves had fortified their stronghold to the point of near impregnability.

The layout hadn't changed in the slightest, leading a few of his regulars to question what form of renovations had been done, but Akira was tight lipped on the extent of his work, as were all good members of the right side of wrong.

The two combat frames standing by the entrance holding potted flowers of some strange growth seemed to calm the nerves of those who were familiar with just what said frames were capable of, while the more civil members of society simply saw fancy decorations.

There were many different cameras hidden among the foliage that covered the trellises running across from pillar to pillar, some armed with weapons while others were decoys. Many of the flowers hidden among the foliage had the ability to release highly toxic spores that would paralyze the body of those while inhale enough of the blooms highly aromatic dust, something that Haru, Futaba and Akira held an antidote to around their necks in a small necklace.

With about ten different places within the kitchen filled with hidden weapons, most of which were highly illegal for a civilian to own, Akira was far more comfortable within his home than he was only a week prior.

His work didn't stop with arming himself and those closest to him, however. From his contacts gained through Leopold, Akira began to collect and spread about the same quality of weapons used by the Atlesian military through those who bore his symbol and colors. Ill gained Dust through a personal attack waged against one of the White Fang's many warehouses on the outskirts of Vale was immediately weaponized in the form of ammunition and spread out equally amongst those loyal to him with experience, leaving a sizable group of well armed citizens hidden amongst the population.

Through the advice of Futaba and Haru, Akira had changed the layout in which his people spread out, no longer keeping one bodyguard per maid, instead spreading them into different locations that would allow them to quickly reach their charges should the unarmed women find themselves in harms way.

Quite a few of his maids, however, began to keep weapons holstered beneath their arms and just below the hem of their long skirts for ease of access. It didn't surprise the flaxen haired young man in the slightest, knowing just what type of lives most had lived before finding themselves working under him, but the sheer amount of Lien he dumped into the black market of Vale still wasn't enough to cover all of those flocking to his budding organization.

After a lengthy discussion between Haru, Futaba and Akira, it was decided that Haru would be taking over as Matron of his maid boutique until he could find someone else strong enough to fill the position. She had quite the experience in managing those beneath her as well as a wide range of taste capable of drawing in the more lucrative of customers as far as food went.

Akira had always maintained a strictly Japanese diet until coming to Tokyo, where he was introduced to the wonderful world of hamburgers and fast food. His taste was hardly what he would consider refined, something Haru made up for in spades. Despite owning the company that eventually led to his addiction to junk food, Haru herself never enjoyed the greasy slabs of ground meat between buns of bread, unsurprisingly.

Equally as unsurprising was how well his decision to introduce a Matron to their quickly growing group was received. It took only an introduction and the slight hint that Haru had saved his life on more than one occasion that the many women working as maids began to flock to Haru with questions revolving around her relationship with Akira.

With skillfully chosen words, Haru made it clear that she wouldn't be divulging anything considered 'need-to-know' to those who did not need to know, though it did little to deter the many Faunus and Humans from their curiosity.

The many changes made within the course of the week were not felt only within his organization, however, many of the other syndicates that operated the turfs surrounding his own chattering on the many radio frequencies usually unmonitored due to their short wave frequencies often not even appearing as transmissions of data.

For all of the technological progress Remnant had made in comparison to Earth, they often forget their ancient tools long since fallen to the tides of History, short wave radios being one such tool.

Futaba had little trouble cracking the different cyphers and modes of communication that the underworld used to conduct business and spread half-truths, leaving those loyal to Joker miles above the rest in the information trade.

Leopold, the ever courageous brother of the cowardly Headmaster of Haven, had secured himself as the left hand man of Akira, often providing the younger being with advice on where to focus his Lien and what it took to turn his large group from a collective of civilians to an armed movement capable of protecting the citizen body of Vale from any outside, or internal, forces that sought to destroy them and their way of life.

A week was hardly long enough to complete the transition from a rough collective of Faunus and Humans sick of the status quot to a force to be reckoned with, but it was obvious to those who knew what to look for what was happening behind the scenes.

Tukson had approached Akira more than once about how quickly he was flooding the streets with high grade weapons and illegal munitions, if only because the White Fang had caught wind of his operation through the whispers of factions unrelated to his own.

It had only taken a few moments to relieve the older man of his worries, especially when he put into perspective the magnitude of his operation in comparison with what the White Fang thought they knew.

His previous worries forgotten, Tukson immediately worked himself into a tizzy with the new information provided by Akira about the going-ons that even he knew nothing about.

"Everything will make sense in the immediate future, Tukson... There is a storm coming, I can feel it in my bones. This is all I know how to do, so why not use it for the betterment of everyone instead of just the benefit of myself?" Akira questioned lightly between sips of his coffee, the flaxen haired teenager leaning against his counter as he sat side by side with the wolverine Faunus.

"So your solution is to, what, create a small militia that dabbles in criminal activity? How does that make us any better than Them?" Tukson posed his question carefully, stumbling at first over his words to find a gentler way of putting it.

Akira didn't answer at first, instead staring into the black liquid that filled only the bottom of his mug. He mulled over his words as carefully as Tukson had, though his delivery was perhaps a bit smoother.

"Would you rather see us continued to be used by those around us for their own gains, or would you like to see us finally break free the chains that bind us, in a manner that even the White Fang failed at achieving?"

Tukson didn't answer immediately, feeling the passion in Akira's words despite how softly they were delivered.

"This is just the beginning, Tukson. We are in a position to change the world in a way that will bend this vicious cycle over our knees and set us free, just you watch."

Tukson couldn't help but nod in agreement, knowing that Akira only spoke the truth.

The Raven perched upon its stand in the corner nodded as well.


	25. Painting the town Red

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ _ **2**_ _ **5, Painting the town Red**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 **[PL]**

Akira felt his scroll vibrate in his pocket once more, this time back to back with another notification. They had been coming in almost daily throughout the week, mostly from Blake and Yang but surprisingly Weiss and Pyrrha as well.

He answered none of them, of course, not even bothering to open them. He didn't know what to say to them, especially now that they, meaning Blake, were acting so suspicious.

What could he say that wouldn't incriminate him any further than he already had by revealing a small fraction of his combat capabilities?

He could tell by the way Blake worded her questions within the brief window he was able to preview her texts that she was getting more and more angry as time went on. Akira was dreading the weekend, because he would be up to his elbows with Team RPBY, however that was supposed to be pronounced.

The onyx haired teenager couldn't just ignore Ruby, however, who seemed to keep their communication a closely guarded secret as none of the others, namely Yang and Blake, had yet to bring up his supposed favoritism. The youngest member of their strangely named team seemed to know he was in the dog house with at least two members of Team RPBY and acted accordingly.

Perhaps it was the small box of ammunition he had Leopold pass off to her when she made a quick visit to Vale Tuesday night to restock that colored her actions, or the tray of snacks Haru and he made for her. He couldn't be sure.

The loud knocking at his cafe door would have spooked him had the light chime in the air not notified him that someone was approaching the doorway using a set of carefully hidden motion sensors secured to the outside entrances of Leblanc Deux.

Angry yellow eyes glared at him from the doorway, letting him know just how Blake felt about being ignored.

"I thought it was Thursday..." Akira mumbled to himself as he finally pulled his Scroll out to check the date and time, causing Blake to pound the door one more time before he could answer it.

"So you'll check your Scroll now, but ignore me the rest of the week? Is that how so called 'Family' acts?" Blake was quick to round on him the moment he answered the door, leaving Akira to school his face carefully blank as he took a step back to let her in.

Blake took all of a moment to glance around the shop, taking notice of the many different changes she could spot as well as the rather large, red eyed Raven perched in the corner of his shop, before turning on him with gusto once more.

"So what's your excuse, hmm?" Blake began again with a sarcastic tone, one she often took when mad or hurt, "Come on, speak! What's the matter, cat got your tongue?"

Akira remained silent, instead crossing his arms across his chest while maintaining eye contact, debating on how to proceed now that he had a good gauge on her mood.

She wasn't mad, she was _furious_.

"Between renovations and internal changes within my two businesses, I've been preoccupied with the beginning stages of opening a third business and starting the hiring process over once more." Akira eventually answered, his words spoken slowly so there was no room for confusion.

"I know how you work, Akira, don't act like I'm stupid. You've had plenty of time to send me even a single message back." The former White Fang member had calmed down slightly in the volume of her voice, but the heat behind her words remained the same, "I would have been fine with one saying as little as 'later' and you know it!"

Akira sighed, letting his arms drop before turning and motioning for the door, locking the deadbolt and hitting the light on the porch to denote his cafe being closed. He still didn't speak as he passed Blake once more and moved into the kitchen.

He motioned for a bottle within the cabinet above the fridge as opposed to one of his ever present cold brew coffees like Blake was expecting, a bottle filled with amber liquid that she knew for a fact was liquor of some sort. The two small glasses he retrieved from the same cabinet merely confirmed her suspicion as he stepped around the counter, took a seat at the bar and motioned for her to do the same.

Setting both glasses before either of their places, he poured a healthy amount of amber liquid in each of their glasses before capping the bottle and sliding it to the other end of the bar to be put up later.

He pursed his lips slightly as he stared into the liquid after lifting his glass to eye level before sighing once more and downing the liquid in one gulp, his face remaining as passive as ever as he did so.

"Go ahead and ask your questions, Blake."

After watching the light fade from his eyes a bit as he sat down, she almost didn't want to anymore. Keyword, almost.

 **[PL]**

"Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Akira didn't answer right away, as that question could incriminate him in the eyes of his 'other' mother, Raven. Choosing the safest option, Akira shrugged his shoulders.

"Eight trials and a world worth of errors."

"That's... a weird way to word your answer." Blake was confused about his wording, but could tell by the steady drum of his heartbeat dancing in her ears despite the small distance between them that he spoke the truth.

"I make an attempt to not lie to those I care about, though some questions... might not get an answer you'll like." Akira turned his gaze in her direction through the fringe of his hair, crimson parting the ebony curls easily enough.

Blake noted the slight glow of his eyes in that moment, far more pronounced than she had seen previously. Swallowing the small lump in her throat, she broke eye contact and turned her gaze towards the small glass held aloft between her palms.

Taking a small sip of the strong smelling liquor, she was surprised to find it much smoother than the smell would have implied. It tasted faintly of cream and nuts, though she couldn't place where she had tasted them before.

"What exactly did you do to heal Jaune? His arm should have been removed with how much it was damaged, yet scans seem to show it functioning _better_ than his other arm." Blake spoke over the rim of her glass, facing forward towards the coffee canisters resting on the shelves behind the counter rather than the target of her ire.

The raven in the corner seemed to perk up at this declaration, ever present in the corner of her eyes. It was striking to see a large bird with the same shade of feathers as his hair and eyes burning as darkly as his own. She turned her attention to the corvid fowl for a moment, her thoughts and gaze lingering a bit longer than she would have liked as her thoughts turned to legends of witches and familiars in an instant.

She shook her head slightly to dismiss the foolish thoughts of fantasy, instead focusing again on his lack of answer.

"Well?"

He didn't answer again for a few more moments, instead grimacing slightly as he poured himself another drink.

"I implanted a sliver of my Aura into his system, overrode his Will and forced my Aura through a closed circuit in his system to facilitate healing."

"You _what now?"_ Blake didn't know where to start on just how bad that sounded, despite the results that the process produced. " _How?"_

"Very carefully." Akira shrugged his shoulder as he turned his gaze towards her once more, almost forcing her eyes to meet his out of instinct. "It was wholly unpleasant."

The implications of his explination did little to settle her nerves, or the morbidly growing curiosity at the possibilities of just what he could do. She tasted deceit in his words, but the overall message rang true, causing a shiver to tremble up her spine that left cold sweat in its wake.

"Is... is that your Semblance? To... take control of those weaker than you?"

"Yes, and no. I... for lack of a better word, _subjugate_."

 **[PL]**

Raven, too, could hear the lies hidden within the truth of his words from her perch in the corner of his shop. He seemed incredibly skilled in the art of deceit from the way he carefully worded his words, acting almost as if it were an interrogation from how he utilized a nearly perfect poker face all the while.

Whatever it was that Akira had done during Beacon's most recent Initiation seemed to have stuck with the ebony haired Faunus currently accosting Akira deeply. By his and her description, Akira appeared to have healed a wounded student during Initiation, one that should have lost a limb by Akira's female companion's word.

One does not simply heal a crippled limb by doing what Akira said he did, even _if_ his Semblance was what he claimed it to be. If she were a bad gambler, which she wasn't, she probably would have believed his bluff, but she wasn't _Qrow_ , therefor she didn't.

That meant that Akira had a healing Semblance that wasn't what he claimed it was, or...

Perhaps it wasn't a Semblance at all.

Had, in the past, someone told her that she would have a magical son, she would have assumed she was questioning his manhood and changed their opinion accordingly.

Now, though? She could hardly contain her trepidation.

How, on the Brothers dead planet did her son gain the ability to wield the phantasmal power granted to exclusive few in the world and how did he keep it so skillfully hidden that she would have mistaken it for anything but what it was?

 **[PL]**

Blake didn't ask any more questions for a long moment, instead staring deeply into the amber liquid still resting within the crystalline glass in her hands. The implications of his Semblance, if that really was the case, were staggering.

"How many?" Blake looked up, but only after downing the contents of the glass in one gulp,

Akira was silently impressed, knowing he could hardly do the same with a completely straight face. This obviously wasn't Blake's first rodeo.

"You're going to have to be more specific than that." Akira responded with an equally bland tone, though he could hazard a guess at what she was really asking.

"How many times have you used your Semblance?" Elaborate she did. There was an unasked question somewhere within the silence afterwards, one he would oblige her with.

This time, Akira pursed his lips and pretended to count in his head despite knowing the number he needed to say.

"Twice. Once on a child with the last name Strom after she was shot in a drive by a month or so ago, and the other on the blond you call Jaune."

That seemed to be good enough for Blake, her shoulders relaxing slightly upon hearing nothing but the truth in his words once more. She wouldn't forget the small flecks of falsity she detected within his words earlier from the slight fluctuation of his heartbeat, but she was content with knowing he hadn't used his so called Semblance on her.

It still made her question Akira and his motives a bit more than she would have before knowing what he was capable of, _truly_ capable of. He played his charades well, but she could see beneath his mask better than she could previously, no matter how slightly it was. One's Semblance was an inner reflection of themselves, of who they truly were.

What kind of person would naturally wield the ability to make those weaker than himself yield to him? What did that say of his nature?

 **[PL]**

Blake had left shortly there after, but not before mentioning she would be back the following morning for her shift. It was only a few minutes after her departure, however, that her blond teammate, Akira's 'sister', decided to do the same thing and force her way into the shop before he could lock the doors once more.

"Damn it, Yang." Akira hissed lightly as the door collided with his nose, though not before he was able to remove most of the momentum from the heavy slab of metal by catching it deftly in his left palm while clutching his face with his right.

"Oops, sorry Ak- bro," Yang hesitated on saying his name, instead falling back to a familial nickname, "I forget my own strength sometimes, my bad."

"It's fine. To what do I owe the late night surprise?" Akira lowered his hand away from his face, taking note of the small flecks of blood upon his palm before turning towards the counter to retrieve a napkin, "Here to interrogate me like Blake?"

"Pfft, naw, nothing like that," Yang tossed her hair over her right shoulder as she sauntered towards the bar, idly taking in the few changes she could spot within the small shop, "If you wanted to tell me you were already a bad ass Huntsman who didn't need no academy, you'd have told me."

"That's... way more mature of a response than I was expecting from you, I'll be honest." Akira blinked after a moment of silence, almost believing her at first if only for the genuine look of ease on her face, "I don't believe you, and I'm not a Huntsman."

Yang flinched lightly before her shoulders slumped, "Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah, but it's hard to gloss something by people like me." Akira shrugged his shoulders before assuming his position at the bar once more, the two glasses from the previous conversation remaining where they once sat. "Your shoulders are too tense for your face to be so serene."

The blond member of Beacon's Team RPBY laughed before grabbing the bottle sat between the two at the bar before pouring the two a glass of the amber liquid, not at all caring that her glass wasn't clean. Judging by the small lip stain on the rim of the glass, it was likely Blake's anyway.

"God damnit." Akira breathed heavily upon seeing how much of the liquid she had poured into his glass, already feeling the effects of the previous servings already. "That is a _very_ generous amount for the potency of that."

"I'm a generous person, what can I say." Yang quipped before downing the large glass in what seemed to be one gulp.

There was a fire in her eyes when she coughed and a heavy burning in her throat, chest and face, but it was worth it. After regaining her bearings, she turned to him as quickly as she could without wobbling on the stool.

"What the hell do you drink, bro? This is _way_ better than the stuff Uncle Qrow gets!"

"I'm not a cheap ass like Qrow either, Yang."

"...Good point. Now, are you gonna tell me what I want to know or am I going to have to beat it out of you?"

Akira just stared at her blankly for a few moments, not bothering to comment. The Raven in the corner did the same.

 **[PL]**

There was nothing but the flurry of activity around them as Roman and Neo descended deeper into the bowels of the Industrial District, each uneasy despite their lazy but confident gaits.

"Get out of my way you lazy mongrel." Roman all but sneered as he swiped his cane in the direction of a White Fang Initiate who drew too close to the man in his route to deliver stolen goods to their proper storage. "I said get!"

The Initiate moved out of his way but not before mumbling obscenities under his breath about how his days were numbered, human scum kneeling, Roman eventually lost count of how many of the standard lines the recruit listed off.

He had obviously been listening to Adam closer than a few of the others.

Roman scoffed further before turning his attention back to his course while ignoring the light rapping of Neo's parasol on the back of his knees. Her constant attempts at dead legging him over the past few days had gotten old, but given him quite a bit of needed experience in strengthening his stance and gait a bit.

He expected nothing less from the devious wench, loathe as he was to care for her.

"Do you think the witch bitch will be there already?"

The blank look Neo gave him afterward spoke volumes.

"I was hoping she wouldn't, okay? Let a man dream?"

The blank look continued, and Roman began to sweat lightly under the strain of maintaining eye contact with a very obvious psychopath.

"We should drown her. Just throw her in the bay, bloop. All good."

Neo emulated a fish face after a moment of consideration before nodding sagely, almost as if she were agreeing with Roman.

Despite his glib, he didn't fancy another meeting with said witch so soon, the golden eyed bitch that waved her fire around like some kind of fire princess or whatever she was supposed to be. Roman didn't know, didn't want to know and didn't care where she came from or who she worked for, he just wanted her out of his Vale and he wanted it now.

Along with some chicken tendies and a good scrub to poke with his cane before pillaging their loot.

He had also realized in that moment that he shouldn't spend so much time cooped up with Neo playing video games in between large raids for Dust.

Neo shook her head sadly at the sight of what once was a somewhat gentleman thief, now turned into what she and her strange accomplice _Medjed_ , who they have only met on the Net when playing games and chatting, called a 'meme lord'. She wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean entirely, but she... had a good idea.

 **[PL]**

"Ah, it's about time you two _graced me with your presence_."

Things were not looking bright for the two, and they had only just entered the room. The large warehouse was mostly empty save for the 'witch bitch' was Roman kindly called her and her two stooges.

In all seriousness, Neo knew they weren't to be trifled with, but she couldn't help but loathe them all with every fiber of her rather minute body.

"I'm sorry, but the entire district was swarmed with black cats and other strange creatures, we had to take the extra long way around." Roman didn't sound very apologetic at all, and it showed when Cinder, the 'witch bitch', flung a fireball in their direction.

Either she was a terrible shot or it wasn't exactly aimed at them as it splashed to fireflies, quite literally, above their heads and dissipated before any damage could be done.

"Try to be sincere when apologizing to your betters, Roman." Cinder seethed before allowing the fire in her hands to fade.

Neither Neo nor Roman were as threatened as they first had been upon encountering the woman, but kept silent none the less. One by choice, the other because they couldn't be bothered to speak in the first place.

"Tell me, Roman, have you gotten word of any new... gangs, in Vale?" Cinder questioned with a false sense of befuddlement in her tone, knowing good and well that Roman was aware of _all_ Gang activity within Vale. "Specifically, the group now calling themselves... the Rooks?"

Roman attempted to keep his look of knowing off his face, but the smugness and slight fear from his most recent encounter came through despite his valiant efforts.

"I take it from the stupid grin on your face that you do, then?" Cinder continued her false sense of confusion as she stepped forward once more, coming to rest just before the two still standing in the doorway, "Do you know their leader, then?"

Roman shrugged his shoulders this time, though he had a strong inkling on just who the leader of the organization calling themselves the Rooks really was.

That slick palmed son of a bitch who stole his hat and cane two nights prior before returning them to him the following morning. The only problem was that Roman was asleep when the items were returned, and he awoke with them on his chest.

That alone put a healthy amount of fear into Roman for yet another person in Vale, because it took one _really_ sneaky son of a bitch to get the drop on him, of all people, while they slept. It didn't help that all security cameras within his particular warehouse had been sabotaged around the same time the warehouses had begun being raided at night.

"You just look constipated now, Roman, stop that." Cinder ordered upon seeing the look on Romans face shift slightly into one of discomfort, fear and whatever vestiges of smugness remained. "I want you to find him, and tell him to meet you here at eight o clock tomorrow night."

"And if he refuses?" Roman eventually questioned after trying to quell the urge to smack Cinder right in her pretty mouth for her unkind words aimed in his delicate direction, "Something tells me he'll refuse."

"Tell him if he refuses, someone higher up on the food chain is going to start snacking on all of the innocent little doe he lets frolic in his warehouses. I'm sure he will get the gist of what I'm saying." Cinder looked positively vicious when she delivered her message, and Roman knew in his gut she meant what she said.

You'd have to be a fool to not understood the barely concealed threat, and Roman had a feeling his would-be killer was no fool.

Roman also had a feeling he would be switching sides, and soon.

Neo and Roman left almost as soon as they came, each with a sinking feeling engulfing their stomachs. The taller of the two turned to his short and quiet resident psycho and sighed heavily before turning away soon after.

"Let's go get some coffee, hopefully the kid will still be up."

Neo didn't look very enthused to be drinking coffee so late, but a reminder that he was often seen buying ice-cream was enough to put some pep in her step.

Roman sighed and shook his head sadly at just how easy it was to get Neo to do something for him, mirroring the same expression she had pointed in his direction earlier without being none the wiser.

 **[PL]**

Yang was far easier to please than her teammate, at least when it came to answering questions. She was much harder to please when it came to absolutely everything else, including trying to get her to leave his shop.

"It's midnight, don't you school kids have a curfew or something?" Akira questioned with a tilted brow as he continuously thought of ways to get the blond boxer to leave his domicile, "And a bed to call your own?"

"Well duh, but who follows a freakin' curfew? Do I look like some sort of nerd to you?" Yang was incredulous as she latched on to the bar, preventing Akira from hoisting her from her spot on her stool, "This is abuse, I'm going to report you to CPS!"

"Call the cops, they aren't going to do a thing." Akira intoned, though it wasn't without a slight grin he said this. "They might get a bit of a good view, but that's about it."

"A good view, huh? And I thought I was the pervy sibling here." Yang drawled as she once more shrugged Akira's arms from around her shoulders in his attempts at kicking her out, "Hands off man, you're giving me the wrong impression ya know."

"You see this, Yang?" Akira questioned, holding out an empty palm over her shoulder for her to see.

"Yeah?" Yang questioned slowly, seeing nothing at all in his hands.

"This is all of the fucks I have to give."

"Wow, you actually have more than _me._ "


	26. Letting the Light In

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ __ _ **2**_ _ **6**_ _ **,**_ _ **Letting the Light In**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 _No worries, none of my stories have been abandoned besides Lied Der Schwarzen Schwan. Currently Paradise Lost, Exalted and Silver Shores are at the top of my list to be worked on, followed by My ffVIIxRWBY crossover._

 **[PL]**

Akira was almost to the top of the stairs when he heard a light rapping upon his door once more, the twinkling chime overhead letting him know someone was present for the third time that night, then the fourth chime rang out.

"This is getting ridiculous," Akira all but sighed as he turned on his heel to return to the foyer of his shop once more, "Who is it this time?"

A quick glance towards the door answered his question, though the presence at his door gave him two more in return.

Taking a slightly longer path to reach the door than normal, Akira palmed one of the many hand guns strewn about in his kitchen as he reached behind his fridge and into an alcove he had made for such reasons.

Slipping the heavy weapon into his coat pocket while keeping a hand close to said pocket, the owner of Leblanc Deux opened the door with his left hand only slightly.

"To what do I owe this visit, Roman?" Akira questioned through slightly clenched teeth, the alcohol and heavy thoughts weighing on his mind coloring his voice a bit more than he wanted. "I just closed shop for the night, I'm afraid."

Roman slipped a hand between the door and the frame it was attached to before forcing the door open, allowing Neo to slip in quickly before he did the same. Akira just let it happen, knowing full well that if the ginger haired thief and his short, psychopathic assistant were paying him a visit at his so called headquarters, there was a good reason.

If the two were here to rob him, they would be in for a terribly rude awakening. While his 'Mother' had slipped though the door when he was finally able to get Yang to leave, Akira still had physical backup in the form of Futaba and Haru, both of whom were still wide awake just a few feet above his head.

His encounters with the orange haired man had been mostly pleasant so far, even after Akira left him the blatant message of 'Don't cross me' in the form of infiltrating Roman's warehouse and demonstrating his skill in stealth by approaching the man while he was completely vulnerable.

"Kid, if this wasn't important, I wouldn't be bothering you this late." Roman did not speak with his usual smugness nor glib, oddly more serious now than he was when Akira watched him wake up with his missing hat and cane resting upon his bare chest. "Just hear us out before jumping to conclusions, please."

Akira knew something was terribly wrong by this point, not once thinking that Roman had it in him to say the word 'please', let alone actually knowing the word and how to use it properly in a sentence. The look in the older mans eyes was one of fear, but the black haired teenager could hardly tell whom or what he was fearful for, or of.

Remaining silent for the moment, the owner of the almost-famous coffee shop locked the door behind the two new comers and motioned for them to take a seat at the bar.

They did so, and Akira motioned for the kitchen for the third time that night. Grabbing a small tub of ice-cream from his freezer and two bottles of cold brew from the fridge, he took his own place at the bar as he passed Roman a bottle of coffee and Neo the tub of ice-cream.

"Good man." The white clad thief seemed pleased that Akira knew what they would want before they had to say a thing though his smile did not reach his eyes, while Neo simply dug into her treat with the golden spoon she kept, apparently, between her breasts.

That was hardly sanitary, but Akira was sure he had done worse in the past.

One didn't pick a bottle of Soma from a dead beings body and proceed to chug said beverage without questioning the sanitary measures taken to keep the bottle clean.

"What's this about, Roman?" Akira questioned with a straight voice, belying far more strength than he felt at the moment. "I hardly expect visits from people of your caliber without a good reason behind them, let alone at this hour."

The threat in his words was subtle, but Roman picked up on it easy enough.

Akira's voice was usually smooth in its delivery, but something in his tone made the hairs on the back of Roman's neck stand on end.

"We've got a problem, and by we, I mean all three of us here at the bar right now," Roman seemed unsure on how he wanted to start the conversation, trailing off for only a moment before renewing his effort at warning Akira, "Not a small problem either, this one..."

Akira tensed slightly before nodding warily, his eyes remaining locked with Roman's as the older man spoke.

The sound of shattering glass was heard moments later, as was the sound of a very low growl that made Roman's blood run cold.

Crimson eyes bled gold, and the crackle of Magic filling the air almost exploded into visible activity as Akira digested what Roman had to say.

 **[PL]**

Blake was rather early the following morning, the sun hardly peaking over the horizon to bask Remnant in its light before she was unlocking the doors to Leblanc Deux with the new keys Akira had given her the night prior.

Despite the gnawing sensation of doubt churning within her stomach, she faced the very same being she had questioned the night prior with a carefully blank expression.

That blank expression lasted all of a second before she was almost taken aback by the now obvious golden hue of his eyes as well as the severe expression etched upon his usually serene face. If she had thought his eyes were glowing the night prior, this moment all but proved it.

There was a crackle of something in the air that made every hair on her body stand on end, her every instinct telling her in that very moment to _run._ At first, she could almost liken it to Aura, but that comparison disappeared as quickly as it came.

Blake had never felt her flight instincts kick in so quickly before, and if not for the iota of discipline and still sizable admiration she felt for Akira, she would have given in.

He was sat calmly within the darkness of Leblanc, every light but the one directly over him remaining off. Resting upon one of the modified stools at his bar, either of his feet were planted firmly on the ground while his newest weapon, one he dubbed Yatagarasu when she questioned him on it, was placed upon his lap.

He was very obviously waiting for something, but Blake doubted it was her presence.

"Akira? What's going on?" The female Faunus questioned uncertainly, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that something had happened after her visit, though she had no clue as to what it could have been.

She had never, _ever_ , seen Akira this furious, as that was the only emotion she could say for sure she saw within his eyes. The rest was a jumbled mess, leaving her unable to determine where one emotion began and another ended.

The twin pools of molten gold shone like two suns in the dark, locking onto her own with an ease that bothered her on an instinctual level. There was something primal within his eyes, dwelling just beneath the surface. She heard something seemingly incredibly distant as she continued to stare into a pair of eyes that far exceeded hers in intensity, almost losing herself for a moment as she felt her bearings on the world dim slightly, as if fading from her vision from the periphery inward.

She looked away after moments.

"Leblanc Deux will not be opening for the rest weekend, you will be compensated appropriately for the shifts you would have worked." Akira spoke after a few moments, his voice noticeably deeper than it had been the night prior. "May I ask for you to do something for me, Blake? Something very important to me?"

She still refused to look him in the eyes, though she nodded none the less, listening carefully as he spoke once more.

"Someone... _dangerous_ , is currently attempting to force my hand, with the lives of those within the Industrial District being the stakes." Akira began, the low growl in his voice becoming more prominent the longer he spoke, "I am... torn on how to proceed without risking those who rely on me for a better future."

Blake wasn't sure what to say, hardly capable of understanding on just how someone could have ruffled Akira's feathers so badly, let alone on just why they thought blackmailing Akira with the _lives of others_ would serve their interests in the slightest.

She vocalized these concerns moments later. "Who on Remnant would do such a thing?"

The clear reprehension in her voice was the same response Akira gave the night prior, at first. Then came the indignation and then, rage, that someone would stoop so low as to threaten the lives of the innocent just to get him face to face.

All he had was five names, a few pictures and warnings of what the five were capable of in a fight.

"Does the name Cinder Fall ring any bells?" Akira questioned his female companion, knowing that she had once been a member of the White Fang and thus may have come across the woman in their dealings together in the past.

"I... can't say for sure, I've heard the name Cinder before though... Do you have a picture?" Blake eventually came to sit in the stool to the right of Akira, turning it so she faced the same direction he did, "Maybe if I saw their face I'd remember."

Akira withdrew his Scroll from one of the many inner pockets adorning the lining of his long coat, eventually pulling up one of the quick images of her that Neo was able to take of her in the past few weeks before showing it to Blake.

Her gasp a second later let Akira know that she had indeed seen her before.

He waited patiently for Blake to gather her wits, though it seemed to take a bit longer than he would have liked.

"Akira, this is bad, _really_ bad! If _she's_ here, then Ad-" Her voice hitched in her throat as she spoke, unable to speak the name of her previous partner.

"If you mean to say your former partner, then you would be correct." Akira spoke far softer than he did before this time, seeing the many emotions fighting for dominance within her eyes, "Blake, this isn't your fight, it's mine."

It had taken quite some time for Blake to confide in Akira on just who she was in the past, and whom she had closely associated herself with. He had assumed he would never cross paths with the infamous red head that currently led a large swath of vitriolic Faunus, but his assumptions had been proven incorrect once more in his life.

"Not my fight? _Not my fight?!"_ She quickly rose to her feet, intent on rounding on Akira before he did the same, leaving her to stand nose to nose with him as she gazed upwards.

'Since when was he so tall?'

It was almost like staring up into the stern eyes of her father, only so much worse.

"I need you to let _me_ handle this, Blake. You are currently attending a school that teaches how to deal with the _Grimm_ threat." Akira paused for a moment, if only to choose his words wisely, "Beyond that, you are on a team with two of my _sisters_ , both of whom are ignorant as to what is happening. If they are targeted by either Cinder or Adam, would it not be wise to have someone _not ignorant_ to keep them safe, or at least prepare them?"

Blake so vehemently wanted to argue, but the look in Akira's eyes as they spoke was the closest she had ever seen him actually come to begging.

He was pleading for her to keep his sisters safe while he 'handled' those who were trying to control him.

Any angry tirade she would have worked herself into died in her throat upon seeing the plea for help for what it was, as did any fight she had in her. As selfish as she wanted to be in joining any fight dealing with Adam Taurus, the fear she felt upon even trying to speak his name was too much for her.

Once more, she took the easy way out, opting to let Akira handle his own as she would do her best to keep Yang and Ruby safe.

A vague trill echoed through her body, causing her to shiver slightly in her seat after she sat back down to put a bit of distance between Akira and herself.

"Damn it, Akira, what have you gotten yourself into...?"

Akira didn't answer, his gaze instead falling from hers to drift somewhere over her left shoulder. Tilting her head slightly, Blake turned her attention to where his had wandered to, coming to rest upon the same portrait of a hooded Akira surrounded by the smiling faces of those she knew and some she didn't.

"Nothing out of the ordinary for me, honestly." Akira eventually answered, his voice far softer than it had been prior.

 **[PL]**

Quite a few customers had been put off by the closed sign still hanging in the window of his door, but many seemed to be more understanding in nature as they all went about their business. Time had slowed to almost a crawl as Akira sat and waited for the inevitable, the silence of the cafe proper only being broken by the din of passersby outside.

It had started to mist heavily an hour prior, leaving visibility to be choked out quite a bit, but it did not stop the sea-side city from going through the motions none the less.

Blake had insisted on hanging around for a bit longer before she returned to Beacon, claiming to need a break from the cramped room she shared with Yang, Ruby and Pyrrha. Akira saw no reason to deny her, especially knowing that she would be vital in his plan to keep his sisters busy for the night and thus out of harms way.

It still felt strange for Akira to call them his siblings, but the idea had slowly grown on him. He was used to claiming Futaba as his little sister, but it was for different reasons than Yang and thus Ruby.

The bond he shared with Futaba and the rest of the Phantom Thieves was deeper than the one he shared with the strange people native to the hell he found himself on, but the difference was slowly fading.

"Akira, if you get yourself in over your head, just give me a call." Blake spoke as she rose from her position besides him, the slap of her book shutting breaking the quiet atmosphere, "I mean it."

"I will." Akira nodded briefly as he turned to watch her ready her belongings, "Remember your promise."

"I'll keep them safe, I swear." Blake clenched her fist lightly at this declaration before turning to face him wholly, "You remember yours."

The shop owner was silent for a moment before nodding his head, knowing what she had meant in a heartbeat. "I will."

Blake studied him for a few more moments, her gaze roving his entire body before settling upon his eyes once more. Nodding briefly, she turned on her heel and made her way for the door, making sure to lock it behind her before disappearing into the fog with the rest of the denizens of Vale.

Akira was almost too preoccupied to notice the avian form of his 'Mother' slip in as Blake left, once more resting upon the perch in her corner.

Crimson eyes locked onto gold, and Raven soon stood before him in her human flesh once more.

"That is a _ferocious_ look in your eyes, my Rook. What bothers you?"

"Your presence."

Raven sighed before shaking her head ruefully, knowing that he didn't quite mean what he said. Despite his sharp tongue, he had yet to move in any significant way to remove her from his shop, even going as far as procuring her a rather beautifully carved stand to rest upon in her avian form.

"Quit being such a brat and tell me what's wrong already." Raven decided to meet her gaze with his, and soon wished she didn't.

Just as Blake had just a few hours prior been subjected to the heaviness of his gaze, so too had Raven suddenly had her fight or flight instincts lambasted. Unlike the Faunus many years her younger, however, Raven had far more spine and strength within her, able to meet the glimmering pools of gold for far longer.

Akira eventually spoke, though it felt like an eon had passed before he did so.

"This is something I feel would best be handled personally."

Raven did not speak, instead nodding her head in acceptance.

Whatever was happening, he wished to face on his own terms. She approved, as it showed he did not rely on others to do what could be done himself.

While she had many questions on just what had caused her male child to look so _angry_ , especially when he had displayed some form of emotional control prior, she knew she would find out soon enough.

She had a feeling she would be learning quite a bit about her only begotten son very soon indeed.

 **[PL]**

Haru watched calmly as Akira finished his last pull up, a particularly large rivulet keeping her attention as it slid down his back, tracing quite a few of the scars he had gained in Mementos. She was as quiet as a mouse, remaining dutifully on standby with a towel and glass of ice water as she watched the person she cared for the most prepare himself for what could be a fight.

She didn't want to remain behind, but he had quickly changed her mind upon pointing out how vulnerable Futaba would be in the event of both of their absence.

While normally a non-issue, as Futaba _was_ capable of defending herself, this was a special case.

No one had brazenly threatened the lives of others to get something out of them, at least not quite like this. The actions of Masayashi Shido, the _traitor_ and those working with him to cause the Mental Shutdowns back in Tokyo were as close as it came with outright threats on their lives, or the lives of those around them.

The anger she felt outweighed any fear she might have felt in the past, having already lost everything she held dear save for Akira and Futaba. She was _not_ going to let either of them go without a fight.

The chances of this _Cinder_ wench sending someone to destroy Leblanc Deux or worse, kidnap Futaba, were dangerously high, and her Semblance would allow Haru to keep the shop safe until Akira could handle the situation.

It was not the first time that Haru wished desperately for their entire group to be together as they were in the past, knowing that together, this situation wouldn't be nearly as dire. Makoto would have been far more suited for such close quarter situations than her and would likely come up with a better plan than throwing Akira at their problems while they hid away in the shadows.

It left a terrible taste in her mouth to verbally agree to let him walk into what was very much an ambush alone, one that she feared would remain for quite some time afterwards.

Akira, for all of his skill, was still gripping tightly to the last vestiges of his humanity, something she knew he would begin to lose if he dwelled in the dark too long. That shining brilliance within him, the purity that not even his Mother could break, had begun to dull. She could see it in his eyes, still glowing gold in the dark and casting its radiance upon the walls Akira faced, that whatever he was thinking was far from pleasant.

He had Lucifer running through his veins, the Devil himself wrapped tightly around him in a miasma of righteous fury. Kaguya brought with her a feeling of peace, while Arsene made her hair stand on end from the constant tricks of the eye his shadow would play. Yoshitsune left a feeling of danger in the air, though not the playful danger that Arsene brought. She could remember the feeling many of Akira's Persona awoke within her, though none were quite as profound as the being once known as Helel.

His presence alone demanded her to bend at the knee, and even now she had to fight the urge every so often as Akira raged through his warm up exercises. The small, almost microscopic voice in the back of her mind told her to submit herself to him, to accept him as her most Holy. She crushed this voice to the deepest reaches of her mindscape, doing her best to ignore it as she had learned in the past, but it never truly left her.

It was not his intention to make her feel this way. It was simply the nature of Lucifer, one that was now, seemingly, the nature of Akira as well.

The leader of the Phantom Thieves was far from a Saint, she knew that all too well, but he _always_ had the best interest of those around him in mind when he acted. His so called 'adventures' with both Kawakami Sadayo and a woman he only addressed as Tae had proven that to her when he first spoke of the subject. The mere fact that he could _summon Lucifer_ enforced this point in her eyes, but did not keep her from caring for him deeply none the less.

The massive axe resting next to the counter began to stir lightly, the vines writhing tightly around the handle reaching out for her as if sensing her anger. She couldn't help but cooing lightly before brushing the mass of vines that reached out towards her with the back of her hand.

Almost like a puppy, the vines seemed to display some type of happiness before growing calm in their movements, having brought the being responsible for their existence from her dangerous thoughts.

"Haru?" Akira questioned lightly, having been unaware of her presence up until she cooed at the vines living upon the surface of her beast of a weapon, "Is everything alright?"

The tint of concern in his voice, despite the vast anger in his eyes, made her feel a bit warmer than her previous thoughts had.

"All is well, Akira. Futaba is currently scouring the Industrial District to see if there is any sort of advantage we can use in our favor." Haru noted lightly, relishing the sight of a sweaty, shirtless Akira for all of a scant second before locking eyes with him once more, "We are getting rather close to the designated time, are _you_ prepared?"

Glancing downward at his heavily clenched right hand and watching as sparks of ivory light danced across his arm, he eventually shrugged his shoulders before sighing slightly. "Let's go over what we know one more time, then I'll tell you."

Haru smiled lightly though the heavy atmosphere brought by Akira's presence hardly allowed it to remain in place for long.

She had only seen him in such a state once, during their conflict with the supposed 'Grim Reaper' that stalked them through the depths of Mementos.

It was the most terrified she had ever been in her life, watching Akira call upon the Father of Lies, and yet, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen all the same.

The former student of Shujin knew that Akira was different when it came to his Persona versus their own, but even that did not explain the deep connection he had shown when wielding the light of Lucifer, or how he had almost embodied the being upon his first full summoning.

His body had shone like a Beacon in the night, illuminating the twisted train tracks and tunnels around them in a pale light that didn't quite feel as Holy as it looked. Akira had only called upon the being after watching Ryuji and Ann both drop to the ground in what he thought, at the time, was lifelessness, though he had later come to learn his closest two friends at the time had fallen into a state of deep unconsciousness.

The fight continued for quite some time, not at all ending with their victory upon first contact between Lucifer and Akira, though it was admittedly soon after.

The strange trinket the creature dropped, while incredibly valuable in protecting the wielder, was hardly worth the nearly lethal battle between the Phantom Thieves and what they now knew was a singular Grim Reaper.

There were more, they later learned, and they were not any easier to defeat in multitudes than facing them singularly.

She was broken from her thoughts of the past when Akira sat himself down before her on the opposite side of the coffee bar. "You're worried."

"I am." Haru didn't bother hiding her fears, though they were for Akira alone.

The brunette knew from experience that whatever Akira set his mind to, he accomplished save for once. Why would this confrontation be any different?

After all, Cinder was no Goddess, and Divinity was almost necessary to keep a Phantom Thief down.

"Firstly, the warehouse they asked you to go to is isolated from the rest by a bit of distance, not to mention being a bit newer than the rest," Haru started while using her Scroll on the counter to pull up a map of the area created by Futaba after studying the layout of the Industrial District, "Not to mention crawling with White Fang activity."

"They are the one of the major factors I am worried about, if only because of Roman warning us that a General and his Lieutenant are scattered about somewhere in that same area as well," Akira murmured thoughtfully as he grabbed the towel laid out on the counter to dry himself of sweat as they spoke, "Adam Taurus and his unnamed right hand are known for being beyond brutal when fighting, each having publicly executed innocent Humans and Faunus alike."

"They will try to kill you, Akira." Haru warned after a small moment of silence.

"Of this I have no doubts." The black haired Faunus nodded his head in agreement, "If a peaceful resolution is offered I will take it, but..."

The unspoken promise of violence was left just that, unspoken.


	27. A Gem's Flaw

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ __ _ **2**_ _ **7,**_ _ **A Gem's flaw**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 **[PL]**

"You should get going soon." Haru noted after some lapse in silence between the two, their final plans having been gone over three times before Akira seemed confident enough to carry through with what he needed to do.

The leader of the Rooks and owner of Leblanc Deux nodded in affirmation, daring not to speak as he gathered his weapons from where they rested against the counter. One of his weapons was the shirasaya blade gifted to him by his 'Mother' while the other was a more complex handgun than he previously wielded. While he had forgone the transformative aspects of the pistol, he made sure to reinforce his weapon with better materials than prior.

Akira was left with a handgun that fired fifty caliber rounds tipped with blank Dust shards capable of holding minute amounts of magic within them. This had the benefit of allowing Akira to carry a single type of ammunition capable of swapping elemental affinities instead of small amounts of every type of Dust available.

He didn't understand a portion of what Futaba had been talking about when she basically took over the project of making all of their gear up to par with Huntsmen with free reign of a large bit of money and resources to do so. While Akira was intelligent, he wasn't _Futaba_ intelligent.

With Yatagarasu held tightly in his left hand and his pistol tucked into a holster beneath his right arm, he gave one last glance in Haru's direction before giving her his best smile. Despite the heavy feeling of tension in the air, Haru knew that he was reassuring her that things would work out in their favor.

She knew that it would, Futaba already hard at work above them working on her own part to play.

Watching him go with a melancholic smile upon her face, Haru allowed the vines growing upon the rafters above to slowly encompass the door and windows. After just a few minutes of pouring her Aura into the now thrice as dense mass of vines, the entire bottom section of Leblanc Deux was sealed off from the world outside.

Climbing the stairs, Haru passed Futaba with one of her hands lightly tracing her shoulder to let the younger girl know she was present as she made her way to the balcony to do the same.

Futaba grunted in an undignified fashion but did not pause once as her fingers dancing across a hard-light keyboard, display after display coming and going on the screens around her.

Haru glanced briefly at the screens as she passed Futaba again, finally hearing what sounded like multiple voices speaking at once in complaint about one thing or another.

Step one had been completed then.

 **[PL]**

Despite how tense Akira felt as he walked alone towards the Industrial District in the southwest of Vale, the bustle of civilian life went on without a care in the world. He had soon diverted his path into the long system of alleyways and low rooftops to make his way to the warehouse unseen by camera, leaving Futaba less work to do as she started working towards scattering the VPD and various response units as far from the district as possible.

The idea was to only bother a few until it was time to clean house, which is when she would kick the scramble into full gear to prevent any of the response units from descending into the district until he clear.

The less people uninvolved with what was about to happen around the Industrial District, the better. Akira did not want the Police catching wind of what was happening before everything was said and done, as any trace of his presence would be long gone by that point.

It took almost no time to reach his destination, having been lost in thought as he traveled on just what awaited him. He was trying to come to terms with what he was about to do, knowing that it would inevitably lead to something worse in the future.

There was little chance that this Cinder woman would back down from her threat, having done the same to Roman before him to get him to work as her underling. Despite what those at large thought of him, the orange haired thief cared almost as much about his people as Akira cared for his, though that bond seemed to wain into nothing the longer he continued to push them.

Roman lost his gang due to pushing them to do things even _they_ had moral qualms doing. Killing innocent civilians was not good business for thieves, as you could only rob the dead once while you could rob the living many times over.

It was distasteful, but less distasteful than radical militants who used fear mongering tactics to bring to heel those beneath and around them.

All signs pointed to the leader of Vale's branch of the White Fang being present in the Industrial District hours before the time to meet. Futaba used the many cameras around the city and within small drones the Rooks used to patrol their small section of the area to confirm as much, though at the cost of two being shot down in the process.

It was a small price to pay for the information they now had, of course.

The warehouse he was supposed to meet the supposed _witch_ was only a dozen feet before him when the doors slowly slid open, revealing nothing but a deep black before him.

An intimidation factor such as that wouldn't have worked on the average Faunus, let alone one with eyes that burned so brightly to act almost as flashlights. If anything, the darkness of the warehouse only proved to enhance his own presence.

His Third Eye technique highlighted those present within the warehouse beyond his already sharpened vision. Five beings were present in the center of the room, one of which had an Aural level that far dwarfed the others while something far more noticeable to his eyes rested in their core. Their core strength was no where near the strength of those he had faced up until now, however, as far as the brightness of their Magic went. He had honestly seen a Black Frost with more Magic than he was seeing at the moment from the female figure.

Her Aura, however, more than made up for her lack of Magic, but it still wasn't on the level he was used to fighting against. Not yet.

So Roman's claim of her supposed witchcraft was true. He didn't exactly trust everything from the mans mouth right away, though evidently he had spoken only the truth.

"So the beast _does_ know to come when its master calls." Came a voice from the darkness before two lights erupted overhead, "I'm glad to finally see the face of the last pest in Vale to stand against me. It was unwise of you to not come alone, however."

The speaker was revealed to be the very woman in the pictures Neo had shown him prior, though now Akira had a voice to recognize her by. While low lighting allowed him to mostly make out her face, especially with his enhanced eyesight, the brightness provided by the two flickering bulbs overhead provided greater details than before.

It was her last words, however, that gave him the most pause. He turned his head lightly to glance behind him, making out the hulking form of Leopold standing near the doorway with something large resting upon his back covered in a heavy cloth.

Akira tried to gesture for the man to leave with his eyes, though Leopold ignored them all as he moved to stand beside the shorter teenager to face against Cinder and those gathered.

"I specifically asked you to stay home tonight, Leopold. Why are you here?" The shop owner questioned as he turned once more to face Cinder, Adam and his Lieutenant, "You should really get out of here while you have the chance."

"You asked me not to, you didn't tell me not to. I know what this is, turf wars aren't foreign to me." Leopold tightened his grip on what appeared to be a handle peaking over his shoulder before hefting the large clothed object off of his back and holding it before him, "What I don't get is why the hell your trying to fight one alone."

The strength behind his tone as well as the steel in his eyes made his position clear. No amount of pleading from Akira would get Leopold to budge from his spot beside him.

Swallowing the large lump in his throat slowly forming, Akira ignored the sinking feeling in his gut and instead tried to maintain focus. He had five opponents standing before him, three of which were standing in the light while two more tried unsuccessfully to remain concealed in the shadows.

They had apparently not known that Akira was a 'Faunus', if he truly even was, otherwise they would have perhaps employed different scare tactics.

Two low growls echoed out after Leopold's declaration from the men to Cinder's left and right respectively, Adam and his Lieutenant each stepping forward in anger. The sound of a chainsaw revving rang out as the large man only know as the Lieutenant heaved his weapon from its place on his back to the ready much like Leopold had done, and a second one revving was heard in response.

The cloth covered Leopold's weapon fell away, revealing a chainsaw blade much like the Lieutenants, only much, much larger. It was almost as if the Lieutenant were wielding a straight sword in comparison to Leopold's great sword.

"I want my training blade back, _boy_." Leopold called out before pointing the great sword in his hand in the direction of the Lieutenant as if it weighed as much as a basic rapier at most. "You no longer deserve to wield it after all you've done!"

"From my dead hands, _old man_!" The Lieutenant snarled as he slowly stalked forward, his large blade following behind him as it slowly tore up the concrete below. "After I'm done with you, I'll have wiped the slate clean, save one."

There had apparently been some form of bad blood between Adam's Lieutenant and Akira's own, and the young shop owner had a feeling that it was on a familial level.

Peace was not an option, then. Trying to make a bargain would not suffice as it was obvious Leopold was only a minute away from engaging the large masked Faunus wielding the chainsaw blade without so much as a ready, set or a go.

The two teenagers trying to hide in the shadows behind Cinder stepped forward into the light after she finished speaking, either due to a gesture of the hand by the witch herself or their obvious conclusion of his physical heritage. The male on her left, behind Adam, appeared to have silver hair and was dressed almost casually compared to his female companion. To Cinder's right, a green haired female dressed in rather revealing garb stepped forward once more until she was just a bit before her male companion yet still behind Cinder.

This little act informed Akira that the two were in direct competition for Cinder's attention, as the silver haired teenager soon matched her distance and shuffled forward slightly to match her.

"Is peace truly not an option, then?" No matter how obvious it was that peace was indeed not an option, the black haired teenager couldn't help but wish to try to solve the situation without resorting to violence.

The still surging anger in his veins demanded he seek to ensure that there were no more threats to be made against him or his, even if that required the deaths of those before him. It was not the first time he had considered simply killing his enemies and being done with them, a cold conclusion to come to, but it was the first time in his life that such an answer was not only possible, but _viable_.

He could very well end those before him, though it might take some form of effort due to the numbers being skewed in their favor heavily, as well as the collective experience in combat that they might have.

No matter how experienced against Grimm they might be, no matter how experienced in fights against Huntsmen and other Aura users they might be, they had absolutely no experience with most of the techniques Akira now wielded as his own and that would spell their undoing.

"It wouldn't matter even if you were a King, any who stand against me die to my blade." The crimson and brown haired man gestured in Akira's direction with his sword, "Tonight, you face judgment! Our operations in Vale must continue without interference, and you have set us back far too much to let walk away!"

"So what, this is an execution, then?" Akira already knew the answer, but once more felt it prudent to have verbal confirmation before he drew his blade.

"I think that much is clear by now, is it not?" Cinder mockingly questioned as she held a hand up even with her chest, "Now the question remains, are you going to hold still like a good boy or are you going to make me draw it out?"

Akira didn't bother trying to play nice with them any longer, drawing the true blade of Yatagarasu free from it's sheath before attaching the sheath to his hip. He proceeded to draw his pistol afterwards, leaving either of his hands occupied as he stared down Cinder and her two underlings.

On an unspoken signal, Leopold and Akira each surged forward as one to engage those before them. Adam and his Lieutenant decided to target Leopold first, the two chainsaw blades wielded by either men clashing as Leopold was forced to kick Adam heavily in the midsection to keep him from slicing at his back.

Akira attempted to distract Adam by squeezing a few rounds off in his direction, though his attention was quickly diverted towards Cinder as he was forced to dodge not only a burst of flame, but a hail of arrows and bullets afterwards.

He slinked close to the ground as he fired a few rounds in their direction, though they proved to be little more than an annoyance to his opponents as each skillfully deflected the projectiles screaming through the air.

Getting the impression that his gun would be doing him little to no good at the moment, he returned it to its proper place in his shoulder holster before grabbing the sheath of Yatagarasu from it's spot at his hip to be wielded as a second weapon instead.

The silver haired teenager Akira knew was named Mercury Black quickly closed the gap between the two and attempted to start their skirmish with a kick aimed at Akira's face. The attack had to be diverted at the last second, however, when it became clear that his opponents blade was positioned to take his leg off just moments before he could connect.

This had the effect of forcing Mercury to backtrack and fire off a nearly point blank shotgun blast at Akira's chest level, giving him enough backward momentum to change his legs course of direction and thus, leave it mostly undamaged by the deadly looking blade of his masked opponent.

At one point in his life, a shotgun blast to his chest at point blank range would have ended his life before he could so much as blink. Now, it scattered harmlessly over Akira's body as his Aura sprung forward to intercept the blow.

Due to the high potency of the Magic currently being drawn upon, it seemed that wielding Lucifer had the effect of supercharging his Aura reserves to much higher levels than he usually had, nearly quadruple if the barely noticeable drain on his reserves Mercury's attack had when compared to his previous fight with Qrow.

This observation was made quickly and just as quickly filed away for later thought as Akira instead focused his efforts into surviving what he assumed would be a battle to the death, or until someone eventually fled.

With a quick flourish of his blade after circulating as much Aura into the weapon as he could summon on a moments notice, Akira struck out with his counter attack against Mercury faster than the silver haired teenager could dodge.

Yatagarasu sung through the air and clattered heavily against Mercury's midsection, his Aura taking quite a heavy hit as a result as the force of the blow flung him backwards away from Akira.

Emerald quickly filled the gap left behind by Mercury being batted away, her two chain sickles twirling around her body in a furious dervish of brutal strikes aimed primarily at Akira's vitals.

Try as she might, however, each blow seemed to be intercepted and knocked away before they could so much as touch a hair on her opponents head. She had been quietly advised by Cinder as Mercury engaged him on her plan of draining him, though Emerald did not understand why.

She wasn't one to question Cinder, however, especially when she knew that she would surely be punished for it. Instead, Emerald did what she did best, weaving an illusion around the masked figure before continuing her wild barrage in hope of quickly tearing through his Aura.

Instead of falling prey to her illusion, which should have made him see each of her attacks shifted half a foot from their correct angle, Akira instead continued to deflect her attacks as if her illusions were not even there.

It was only when his golden eyes, still burning with malevolent intent, peered deeply into her eyes did she understand.

 _'I see you.'_ Her opponent mouthed mockingly as he smacked her weapon out of its path and towards the ground once more, this time moving forward quickly as he did so. She was unable to yank her left arm back quick enough to prevent her masked opponent from stepping on one of her weapons before lashing out with his blade once more.

As if to demonstrate the strength behind his attack, or perhaps even the strength of the Aura coating his blade, it sliced cleanly through the heavily reinforced chains that Emerald wielded in tandem with her bladed kusarigama pistols.

Now down to a single weapon until she could recover the other, she retracted her remaining kusarigama quickly as she watched Mercury surge forward once more. The silver haired teenager vaulted over her shoulder with a flip before rushing towards Akira in almost a straight line to close the distance between them as quickly as he could.

As if mocking him, Mercury was soon blasted back by their opponents weapon, still heavily coated in his white Aura.

Quickly checking her Scroll, Emerald frowned as she watched Mercury's Aura fall into the orange as his body heavily impacted the wall of the warehouse, her own remaining in the green as was Cinder's.

"Merc, cover fire!" Emerald called out, once more trying to use her Semblance to weave an illusion around their opponent, though each time her Aura was forcefully shrugged off as she continued to try and slip it through whatever gap she could find in his armor.

It took a few seconds of prodding for her to eventually slip through a small gap in her opponents Aura thanks to the constant hail of flak raining down on him from Mercury's acrobatic flips and attacks, though she immediately wish she hadn't.

After piercing through his shell of Aura, Emerald Sustrai felt something latch hold of the connection now established between the two before seizing control of the link and forcing it open far beyond what her Semblance should have allowed.

Emerald began to feel her vision black out as foreign energy raced down the forcefully created link and into her mind, causing her normally sharp thought process to slow to almost a crawl due to the pain.

She never stopped to think that someone could possibly reverse her Semblance, so she had no way to prepare herself for the foreign power she could feel dragging her under.

The lights within the dully lit warehouse seemed to flicker slightly on her way down and her body impacted the ground at just the right angle to allow her direct view of her opponent before she fell completely unconscious.

 **[PL]**

Emerald groaned as she slowly regained consciousness, her body stiff from the position she had maintained though it hardly registered on her still foggy mind. Blinking wearily, the mocha skinned female slowly tried to rise from her position, only to fail to do so on her first try after pain lanced through her head and forced her back to her previous position of cradling her skull.

The pain eventually subsided, though she became faintly aware of a strange, almost whispering voice speaking in the back of her head as a result. She couldn't quite make out what the whispering was saying, however, and it quickly started to get on her nerves.

Once more attempting to open her eyes, Emerald was greeted with the sight of darkness as far as the eye could see. Glancing downward, she could barely make out the ground beneath her, being made up of what appeared to be sand that constantly fluttered on a breeze she didn't feel against her skin.

What was most strange about the sand, however, was how white it appeared to be the closer she looked, almost translucent in nature.

"Where am I?" Emerald groaned lowly after speaking, her head still pounding from whatever it was her masked opponent had done to her, "Cinder? Mercury? Anyone there?"

Spinning slowly, the green haired female saw nothing to indicate that her only two associates in the world were anywhere nearby, causing Emerald's sluggish heartbeat to spike in intensity at once. She was unprepared to find herself in unknown territory in the middle of a fight, almost at once coming to the conclusion that her opponent must have had a teleportation Semblance of some sort.

That was until she slowly went over the events that led to her waking up in what appeared to be a vast desert of white sand.

Replaying the last few moments of the fight over and over again in her minds eye, Emerald slowly began to form an almost horrifying theory.

The sound of clapping suddenly ringing out behind her nearly caused Emerald to leap from her skin as she spun on her heels while reaching for weapons that were not there.

Her masked opponent stood before her, though his clothing and mask were different than what she had seen him in just a minute or so prior. A gold mask with ornate, curved horns decorating it covered his upper face while a crimson sash rested across his chest, pinned together with a clasp designed in the shape of what she could only describe as some form of military medal of sorts.

Beyond the two obvious changes to his appearance, his clothing seemed to be made of much higher quality, at once appearing as something only royalty could afford to own.

"Where are my guns?" Emerald demanded to know, her tone colored with anger as she leveled her strongest glare in her opponents direction, still not knowing a name to address him by.

" _It doesn't matter, they serve no purpose here."_ Came the masked beings reply, his now crimson eyes piercing her own, _"Nothing of the material world does."_

"What does that even mean?" Emerald once more demanded an answer, though the growing dread in her stomach indicated she had already guessed the answer. "Where are we?"

" _My domain, of course."_ The being, once more, spoke as if Emerald should have already known the answer to her question, _"You did, after all, bridge the gap between us."_

At once she understood, and that growing pit in her stomach began to morph into something she knew well.

Fear.


	28. Illuminate

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ __ _ **2**_ _ **8, Illuminate**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 **[PL]**

Emerald didn't understand, her mind still numb from whatever it was the man standing before her did to counter her illusions. The fear she felt, however, was the only thing she could be sure was real. She could feel it, understand it, but everything else around her was so foreign it could be considered alien to her.

The golden mask resting upon the brow of her previous, _current_ opponent glistened in the pale light as flashes of bright white erupted on the horizon. The sand beneath her glowed in response to the introduction of foreign light, drinking it up greedily and reflecting it upwards in a dazzling display that reminded Emerald of diamonds.

"So your Semblance is mental based, then?" Emerald felt the need to ask after a moment of silence, though the masked man seemed to ignore the question. "Is that where this is? Your mind?"

" _No, little girl, but you are on the right track."_ The one wearing the golden mask eventually answered, gesturing for her to follow behind as he began to move towards what appeared to be a large cliff, where glistening sand drifted in a non-existent wind. _"Come._ "

The green haired illusionist wanted to scoff and tell him, in a very unkind way, that she would be doing nothing of the sort. Instead, her words died in her throat and her body began to move without so much as an iota of resistance to his command. It was not difficult for her to fall into step with him, walking just to his left and within eye sight.

Inside, Emerald was screaming bloody obscenities, but none could escape her to be vocalized. Her body was being controlled like a marionette by whoever it was wearing the mask, and in that moment she realized she was completely at his whim.

She was trapped, wherever she was, with no weapons and no way to access her Aura, with her body being completely controlled from an outside source flawlessly. There was nothing she could do, for the second time in her life.

Emerald detested being powerless, and would have had tears of frustration leaking from her eyes should she had even that much control over her body. Alas, she didn't.

After walking a few paces in absolute silence, save for her own mental tirades and breakdowns, they arrived at the edge of the white desert to gaze downward into what appeared at first to be an endless abyss.

It was not quite so, however, as she spotted what appeared to be a floating platform with multiple beings standing in a loose formation of a circle. All but one shared a mostly humanoid shape, the other appearing to be a massive phallus on a wooden cart with wheels.

Emerald had so many questions upon seeing the beings, more specifically aimed at the giant phallus than not, but instead remained silence as she did not have the control over her body required to speak.

" _The being currently standing in the center of the floating island would have crushed your mind and left you without any higher function should I have not reached you first."_ The masked being eventually stated, the tone of voice in which he spoke entirely dismissive, _"I did not do this out of kindness, however."_

Emerald had figured as much, having been made a prisoner within her own body. It was one of the most terrifying and humbling experiences of her life, especially when she had come to realize that she may never have complete control back ever again.

Hell, she could be killed at any moment, realizing from his words that he had snatched her consciousness from her body and brought her wherever it was she was now. It obviously wasn't the mind of the person she was fighting, but somewhere else.

Despite no longer having control of her body, she eventually noted that there indeed were tears of frustration pooling at the corners of her eyes. Perhaps it was the fear, or the anger she felt that caused them, but they didn't seem to matter too much when all of the emotion in the world couldn't help her lift a finger in what she thought were going to be her final moments.

Even without the ability to close her eyes, she willed her focus inward and tried to ignore the inevitable while going over the finer points of her finite existence to bolster her spirit.

" _Do not fear, child, I shan't sully my hands with your blood... No, I have much grander plans for you."_

 **[PL]**

Cinder Fall would love to claim to have a plan for every situation, to be ten steps ahead of everyone around her so that she would never fail an objective laid out before her. Usually, such was the case, as so demonstrated in the ambush she, Emerald and Mercury had conducted on Amber, the previous Fall Maiden.

The skirmish she found herself in now, however, was not one of those occasions. Her plan had been relatively simple, but with five against one the odds were heavily skewed in their favor. The battle field was one of her own choosing, so home field advantage was hers as well, pushing the odds even further in their favor, or so she thought.

Her masked opponent, a young man she knew as Akira Kurusu, was far more skilled than she thought a coffee shop owner had any right to be, not to mention one as young as he. While it was true that he had swayed a large portion of the unaligned Faunus to join his gang, she had thought it was through the extensive trading of expensive gems and bribery that had bought him their loyalty.

When he had silently commanded his subordinate to leave, she was just as silently impressed when the man deigned to remain upon what he _knew_ would be a battleground.

Cinder couldn't pay someone enough for that kind of loyalty. What was it about her young opponent, outside of his seemingly endless reserves of Aura and usage of _Magic_ that inspired such faith, such zeal to throw ones life away?

Adam Taurus, despite his delusions of being a powerful leader, was forced to lead with an iron fist. Cinder had watched him raise his underlings spirits with heated speeches and grand gestures with his hands, but she doubted there was a single person amongst the Valean branch of the White Fang who would follow him into what was sure to be an execution.

The giant who came to aid his leader demonstrated great skill in combat, holding back two foes at once with sweeping strikes and deft maneuvering as he slowly chipped away at the Lieutenant's Aura. Despite his experience in the art of combat, however, he was slowly losing ground while Adam's Aura continued to burn brighter and brighter as the fight continued.

The grim look of _knowing_ that remained on his face the entire while is what bothered Cinder the most. He knew what was going to happen when he came here, and he accepted it none the less. He was willingly throwing away his life to buy his leader some extra time.

Cinder was forced to dodge an arrow of her own creation as her opponent ripped it from the sheet metal before infusing it with his own magic and returning it as if it were a javelin. She broke into a roll an instant after it shattered behind her, her initial dodge not granting her enough distance as brightly glowing glass the same shade of white as his Aura peppered her body and cut small gouges into her Aura.

The would-be Maiden maintained an air of confidence as she once more assembled a bow of glass to continue prodding for weaknesses in his technique, though internally she was beginning to worry.

It took a fair amount of strength to shatter her glass, having previously demonstrated her arrows capability of sinking into stone without so much as chipping, yet he continued to turn them into dust in the air with a bored swipe of his blade.

No matter the angle she fired from, no matter how much Magic she poured into her flame attacks, nothing seemed to do enough damage to his Aura to really be worth the drain on her own.

When Emerald dropped like a rock in the middle of the fight, Cinder finally attempted to close the gap while commanding Mercury to get his wounded comrade out of the way with a flick of her hand and a few flips of her fingers.

With her non-verbal command being followed out, the golden eyed Maiden took relish in the panic that flashed in her opponents eyes when she closed the gap between them in far less time than he estimated. Her blade was already passed his guard by the time he corrected its position to intercept her own, allowing her to score a heavy blow to his upper torso that would have killed him if not for his strongly bolstered Aura.

Trying to roll with the momentum to put a bit more space between them before he could finish raising his blade, Cinder dove to roll passed him and under his arms, only to catch a knee to the chin before she could complete the motion.

It was only thanks to her years of training that allowed her to complete her intended roll despite the heavy blow to her face, but just as he had underestimated her, she had underestimated the speed at which he would close the distance between them to respond in kind.

Instead of striking at her chest, however, Akira aimed for her ankle and struck twice before Cinder could so much as blink. Her Aura took a large dip but it was not enough to drop her from the green, allowing their fight to continue unabated as she intercepted a third strike aimed at her knee.

The bright white light of her opponents blade had dulled quite a bit, allowing her to make out the tiny shards of Dust that hung from the metal while others floated away in the wind as the friction between the two weapons increased.

Once more, Akira lashed out with his legs in an attempt to disrupt her, only for her to raise a knee to intercept it in a way that wouldn't hurt as much. Despite his lithe appearance, her young opponent packed more of a punch than she was willing to admit.

She wasn't expecting for him to headbutt her, bright white lights erupting in her vision as Akira closed the distance between their heads in the blink of an eye.

Their blades disengaged as Cinder stumbled back slightly from the sudden blow, correcting her footing and vision just in time to bring her blade up to intercept Akira's once more. This time, Cinder threw the weight of her blade to the side to throw her opponent off balance, though he seemed to expect the shift and stepped calmly in the same direction while correcting his stance to adjust appropriately.

With a flourish, Akira brought Yatagarasu around with a pivot of his two wrists after once more moving to the right, his blade screaming through the air and slamming into the chest of his opponent in a diagonal slash. Cinder slid backwards from the momentum behind the attack, feeling her Aura take a heavy dive towards yellow as a result.

Gritting her teeth, Cinder once more gestured for Mercury to grab Emerald but this time tagged on the order of retreating to a safe house. A look of confusion flashed across the silver haired teenagers face but he complied none the less, once more scooping up the body of Emerald before tossing her over his shoulder unceremoniously before running for the door.

Watching the exchange from the corner of his eyes, Akira kept his focus on Cinder while listening to the continued fight between Leopold and the two White Fang leaders with growing worry.

The longer he was forced to focus on Cinder and her two goons, the longer Leopold was forced to hold back Adam Taurus and his Lieutenant without some form of backup. The moment Akira would move to disengage, his female opponent would intercept him with her ranged attacks and pepper him with glass and fire.

Despite relying on Lucifer to grant him the strength to take on an opponent he felt was equally as held back by their environment, his lack of attacks in the form of Magic outside of two left him limited to take Cinder out at range.

All three techniques he could have called upon to end the group of five before they could so much as lift a finger was now limited by the presence of Leopold. Akira would have been immune to the effects of his own attacks, but his older subordinate would not be.

Once more Akira was forced to engage Cinder in close quarter combat, though this time she started fighting with far more ferocity than before. Instead of a straight blade, she had summoned two small curved daggers and proceeded to knock his blade aside before scoring two strikes upon his chest much as he had her.

Frowning at how much his Aura was being depleted by her tactic and the limited ability he had to respond due to the weight and length of his blade, Akira began to bolster his strength by calling upon one of the few techniques he wielded that could increase his combat abilities directly.

Three flashes of light erupted around him as a result, being red, blue and green in color. The three pillars of light circled him once quickly before fading away, leaving him feeling better than he did before the fight began.

Cinder had leaped backwards to avoid the lights, being unaware of what they were and not wanting to take the chance that it was an offensive spell of some kind.

Akira had already proven he could wield Magic in some capacity, though she had no idea to what extent, causing her to be ever vigilant in their fight for the first signs of external Magic usage.

Whatever it was he had done had caused his Aura to spike higher than it had been before their fight had started, forcing Cinder to consider a full retreat before any authorities could arrive to interfere. It had already taken far too long to take him down, the plan of assault only calling for a few minutes at most.

She had assumed he would be a passive sheep, coming to the slaughter. Unknowingly, she had provoked a hungry wolf instead.

A roar of anger tore through the air, causing both Cinder and Akira to snap their attention in the direction of where another conflict was coming to a close.

The massive chainsaw styled as a broadsword wielded by Leopold had severed through the shoulder and collar of the Lieutenant before its rotary blade had become too coated in flesh and blood to continue its function.

The roar of anger was not from the obviously dead Lieutenant or even Adam Taurus, but from Leopold as he let go of his enormous weapon and raised either of his hands to the sky as he bellowed once more. There was inflection present within his scream of rage, however, a quiver that soon overtook the blood chilling scream and devolved it into one far more sorrowful.

"Why?! Why did you make me do this! Gods damnit, Leonidas, why?!" Leopold couldn't contain himself any longer, his arms falling to his sides as he looked up at the frozen body of who he identified as Leonidas.

As he sunk to his knees in despair, the large lion Faunus was unaware of the redhead quickly making his way around his blind side while lowering his stance to strike.

"Leopold, move!" Akira screamed, raising his left hand as if he could stop the attack that was already in motion, only to watch in horror as the crimson blade of Adam Taurus slid through Leopold's neck cleanly, "NO!"

This time a second roar of anger tore through the warehouse, matching the first in intensity before overcoming it entirely. If the first could have chilled blood in the veins, Akira's could have frozen it entirely.

The black haired Faunus was in motion before Adam could blink, barely giving him time to bring the crimson blade of Wilt into position to intercept Yatagarasu. Despite being in position and preparing himself, however, Adam was quickly overcome in strength and was forced into a kneeling position with either hand supporting the hilt of his blade.

Instead of continuing to bare down his weight, Akira rose his blade and began to deliver downward strike after downward strike, losing all of his elegance as his lower face contorted into a snarl. Each strike was barely blocked by Adam, his blade and body flashing crimson every time Akira slammed his blade unto his own.

After the tenth strike, Akira seemed to come to the understanding that just savagely striking Adam's sword was doing him no good as the weapon seemed to be far more sturdy than he was expecting. Instead, Akira swung the blade in a feint before his leg shot forward in a snap kick that caught Adam directly in the nose.

As either of his hands were used to intercept Yatagarasu, the redhead had no time to bring to bare any other sort of defensive measure that could have prevented him from tasting Akira's boot.

Not unlike a rocket, Adam was blasted backwards by the force behind the kick, demonstrating just how heightened his strength had become after whatever spell it was he used to bolster himself took full effect.

The leader of the Valean Branch of the White Fang impacted heavily against the railing of a set of stairs behind him, causing them to crumple into a heap as the Aura reinforced body delivered most of the momentum carrying Adam away from his person and into the metal.

Groaning, Adam was quick to pull himself from the crumpled metal while bringing his weapon into a defensive position once more. He was left with scant nanoseconds before Akira had descended upon him again, a flurry of glistening steel and righteous fury as he tried his best to snuff out the light within the redheaded Faunus.

After three quick exchanges, Adam was forced back multiple feet from the force of the impacts, almost putting him back to back with the wall of the metal warehouse. Each blow was like holding back the explosive force of a missile, and each time he felt his arm grow more and more numb as the vibrations from the impact rattled his bones.

He could feel the horns upon his head tremble slightly from the force behind the impacts, causing Adam to grit his teeth before reinforcing his body further with Aura to bolster his strength. It did very little besides burn through his reserves quicker than before, though the amount of energy stored in his blade was enough for one final attack that should finish his opponent once and for all.

With a quick parry that consisted of sheathing his blade and using a round from Blush to increase the speed at which he could draw Wilt, Adam redirected Yatagarasu and threw Akira off balance long enough to put some few feet of distance between the two before he readied himself once more.

Settling into a wide stance while lowering his center of gravity, Adam once more sheathed his blade with the intent of using Blush to increase his draw speed, but with an extra boost on top to put his opponent down.

Despite proving himself a worthy opponent and the benefit that would have come with having Akira on his side, Adam wanted nothing more than to be done with the conflict so he could continue with his main goal. This masked Faunus stood in the way as the last gang leader not under indirect control of the White Fang, and with him eliminated Vale would be his in all but name in the underworld.

Seeing no need for dramatic declaration, Adam tensed slightly as his opponent sheathed his blade in the same fashion before settling into a stance not unlike his, if not a bit more specialized in footwork.

Golden eyes stared balefully back at him from beneath Akira's mask, still shrouded in Azure flames all the while. They spoke of all Adam needed to know. This would be their final clash.

Pushing as much Aura into his body as it could handle at one time, Adam blasted from his slightly kneeling position and glided across the ground with great bounds before his crimson blade erupted from its sheath, seemingly flying true.

Time slowed to a crawl as his crimson blade tore through the chest of his opponent, feeling as if his victory was all but assured after finding its mark.

He passed Akira and came to a stop, the crimson glow of his hair, blade and clothing ceasing to exist after expending all of his contained energy siphoned from his opponents attacks.

He turned his head slightly, expecting to see a geyser of blood to accompany his attack, though it was either delayed or had already happened as his opponent just stood there, waiting.

At once, Adam knew something was wrong. One was the lack of blood, or rather the large eruption of blood that usually followed his attack. The velocity of his attack is what drew the blood from his opponents wound, acting as not only something that could cut steel, but leave a vacuum in its wake.

The second reason was the astounding pain he felt in his right hand, or rather his wrist. It hit him all at once, forcing his gaze to tear itself away from his opponent and towards his limb to figure out the cause.

It was his lack of a hand that greeted him, as well as the gush of blood that erupted from the wound just as he looked down.

Adam stumbled but did not black out, instead gripping at his wrist in a vain effort to stop the mind numbing pain that had now caught up with him. He quickly released the ruined appendage before reaching around his waist to grab at a pouch upon his right hip, disengaging the magnet that kept Blush firmly at his hip as his left hand fumbled passed it.

He had missed the sound of steel impacting glass once more as he attempted to stop the blood flow with what appeared to be a small vial of Burn Dust, his mind slowly losing focus from the pain and blood loss.

Phantom sensations of still having his hand, of still holding his blade in said hand echoed through his mind, and despite his mind telling him that he was currently clenching it in pain, there was no longer a limb to clench. The Burn Dust was uncorked haphazardly as Adam began to stumble away, temporarily forgetting where he was or what was happening as he grasped the glass vial in his mouth before pouring it into his only remaining hand as best he could.

With less than half of the vials contents falling into his hand, Adam was only able to cauterize a portion of his stump as the amount of Dust wasn't sufficient enough to cover the entirety of his wound.

The pain he felt was unreal, but with his wound as tended to as best he could, Adam tried to focus as best he could as he made his way towards the door.

All thoughts of his discarded weapon and its sheath lay forgotten as survival instincts overtook him. With a trial of blood following after him, Adam Taurus attempted to limp away from the scene as quickly as he could, all the while yelling for someone from the White Fang to come out to help him.

His voice was weak, however, and did not seem to carry far enough to rally him any support.

"Well, well, well... What do we have here?" Came a lazy drawl from the darkness, causing Adam to snap his gaze to the left as he continued to hobble further and further into the Industrial District to where he knew a White Fang Safe house was located.

Standing between two empty warehouses was a masked woman dressed in black and red. Her mask was complex and layered while the rest of her outfit appeared to be more rustic and worn in nature, bearing a striking resemblance to a Grimm's much like his own.

He knew who she was, though through his blood loss and sudden loss of Aura, not to mention searing pain in where his right hand once was, he could not say it aloud. Darkness engulfed his vision and soon, Adam Taurus thought no more.

 **[PL]**

Cinder would never admit it, but she feared for her life. It wasn't the first time she had felt such fear, nor would it be her last, but it was the most prevalent amongst the many experiences to date.

After giving Taurus a _hand_ in diverting Akira's attention before the black haired Faunus could strike him down, the Pseudo-Maiden had once more been pushed back by the sheer strength and speed at which her opponent retaliated with.

Gone was the careful finesse that he previously fought with, and in its place would be something she could only describe as _inhuman._ Almost as if he wielded precognition, Akira seemed to know where she would attack before she so much as flexed a muscle to denote her initiating another attack, his blade already in position to intercept and deflect hers before she could strike.

She had lost a great deal of Aura due to efficiently executed parries and ripostes, once more driving home the fact that her opponent wielded far greater skill than he had any right to with his weapon of choice. Some times he seemed to hesitate and motion for an attack that would have brought him far too close to her for the weapon he wielded to be effective, but he maintained an upper hand no matter what she threw at him in retaliation.

Cinder was eventually forced to admit she was fighting a losing battle and began to make plans accordingly, gritting her teeth as either of her glass daggers cracked under the latest blow Akira brought down upon them. Any plans she had to usurp his Magic came to a grinding halt the moment Emerald was rendered unconscious, as she would need him thoroughly distracted or weakened before she could get into proper position to begin the draining process.

As much as it worked on the previous Fall Maiden, Akira had proven too skilled and mostly immune to her Fire Magic to take down using her conventional methods.

Directing both of her weapons to the left, she once more attempted to guide Akira's blade away from her as she rolled to the right and tossed her weapons like projectiles in his direction, clipping his chest and shoulder before bouncing harmlessly away. She tossed a second volley of knives after summoning them seconds after the first, this time hiding a flash bomb within them during their construction before flinging them in his direction one at a time.

He reacted as expected and swatted the first out of the air with his blade, resulting in a flash that would have blinded Cinder should she have not closed her eyes. She threw her second knife as she continued to run towards the open door, only for him to swat it out of the air as well before releasing its burst of light like the first.

He did not swipe at the third knife, or the fourth, though they burst into blinding light much as the others had regardless.

Akira had been blinded by the first and reacted out of instinct when he swatted at the second, only to fall prey to it a second time as a result.

It took nearly half a minute for his vision to clear, a tense few seconds as he strained his ears to listen for Cinder to engage him once again. When her footfalls did register upon his ears, he realized too late to intercept her that she was fleeing, much like Adam had.

After keeping his eyes closed for nearly a minute and no more tell-tale signs of flash bombs going off reaching his ears, Akira opened his eyes to a mostly empty warehouse and remained at the ready for another minute none the less.

When it became clear that either of his opponents had fled, the black haired Faunus was left with nothing to direct his anger towards, no one left to sate his thirst.

Screaming in frustration again, Akira threw his head back and continued his shout until he felt like his throat was going to shred itself.

Growing hoarse and short of breath, the black haired Faunus eventually ceased his scream of anger and nearly dropped to his knees in frustration, but maintained standing as he glanced around the ruined scene.

There was blood everywhere, a large portion of it pooling around the nearly bisected body of Leonidas and the decapitated corpse of Leopold. Even in death, the larger man seemed to have thrown his arms around the slightly smaller one in some sort of protective gesture, or perhaps one of grievance.

Akira felt his anger falter, and in its place he felt emptiness.

Looking at the scene made him sick, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from it for some time, burning it into his mind to be remembered until he perished.

Leopold had stopped his son from continuing his murderous rampage, but the cost seemed hardly worth it. There was no victory here, there was nothing to counteract the bitter taste of defeat that now filled his mouth.

Eventually, Akira couldn't take it any longer and turned his attention to the hand still clenching Wilt and the sheath that had fallen from Adam's hip when he blindly reached for his waist.

Stomping on the hand, the leader of the Rooks reached down after it fell slack and let go to pick up the black it once wielded before crouching down to retrieve its sheath as well.

The golden eyed teenager noted someone standing in the distance as he stepped out of the bloody warehouse and after squinting his eyes slightly and tensing, realized it was only Raven.

He put her presence from his mind as he continued to walk a few more paces before turning to face the warehouse. Closing his eyes, Akira drew in a deep breath before letting it out slowly.

Upon the last bit of oxygen passing his lips, his Aura and Magic spiked wildly once more as he called upon one of the skills he had swore to only use in dire situations. With azure flames burning brightly, Akira mouthed the name of the technique that matched his current Persona's epithet and bright white soon filled his vision.

 **[PL]**

Raven watched with barely concealed concern as her son stumbled from the same warehouse she had just witnessed Adam Taurus and a black haired woman she faintly recognized flee from. Despite what appeared to be a still healing gash upon his chest and slow gait, he appeared in far better shape than what appeared to be either of his opponents.

She had only arrived in the area a minute or so prior to witnessing Adam Taurus limp away while clutching at a glowing and poorly cauterized stump that once was his right wrist, having been unable to get access to Leblanc Deux to watch her son now that she was free of her daily duties as Chief.

It was a great surprise to see the redhead in such a wounded state, especially considering the last time Raven had seen him had been during a failed raid on one of the Branwen Tribe's previous enclaves. He had walked away from _that_ fight with his life only due to her need to keep her Maiden abilities under the radar from Ozpin, though very few of the forces he had brought to bare upon her could say the same.

She had quickly knocked out the weakened Faunus and used her Semblance to have Vernal take him into custody before returning her attention to where the would-be usurper had fled from.

She knew she had felt a spike of familiar energy in the area and had come to check it out on a whim, thinking perhaps it was Qrow carrying out yet another small sting on the local gangs as he always did when bored.

She did not find Qrow conducting the sting, however, but Akira instead.

Snarling slightly beneath her mask, Raven cursed herself for not intercepting the fleeing woman as well now that she knew the black haired bitch had been in a fight with _her_ son. Raven would be sure to hunt her down in the future, instead turning her attention back to Akira once more as she watched the azure flames around his eyes, _so much like her own_ , began to burn brighter.

At the same time did the flames burn brighter did a blinding white flash appear in the sky high above them, forcing Raven to shield her gaze her her hand due to its intensity.

A pillar of white descended from the sky quicker than Raven could comprehend and slammed into the center of the bloody warehouse, causing the ground to start to shake instantly as a shock wave erupted from the area of impact.

Akira remained unmoving, either of his arms spread wide as the blinding pillar of white became a sphere of destructive power, washing over the warehouse and rushing to meet him head on.

Raven reached a hand in his direction much as he had done for Leopold earlier, only to watch as the shock wave of white slowed to a halt directly before him. The white energy began to dissipate afterwards, leaving her son to turn on his heel once more to continue on his way away from the scene of his crimes.

She said nothing as he drew closer to her position, instead making eye contact as he slowly walked by.

Crimson eyes stared back at her in warning, and she remained silent as she watched Akira walk away with two blades on his hip.

Raven slowly turned back to where a warehouse once stood, instead watching as the sea rushed forward to fill the massive crater in the concrete that now existed at the very back of the warehouse district of Vale.

She made herself scarce soon afterward, once more slinking into the darkness before using her Semblance to return herself to the current Branwen encampment after she ordered the second exodus of her clan in just as many years.

Raven held up a hand to silence Vernal, who had at once stood at attention upon seeing her leader return from her travels so soon. Removing her mask, Raven tossed it aside and took three steps before sitting down heavily upon her bedding, her eyes vacant as she replayed the scene she had just witnessed over and over again.

She would not be the only to do the same, though she would be the only one in all of Remnant outside of its source and a select few to know the truth of what would be come to be known as the 'Starfall Event'.

Raven had felt fear quite a few times in her life. It had shaped her, molded her, forced her to act in ways that she deeply regretted. She had learned the truth about Salem and had grown to fear the war between Ozpin and the Witch, distancing herself from the world of Huntsmen and Huntresses alike as a result, but what she had just witnessed went far beyond Ozpin's demonstrations.

It was, dare she say it, humbling.


	29. Rumor Mill News

_**Paradise Lost**_

 _ **Chapter**_ __ _ **2**_ _ **9,**_ _ **Rumor Mill News**_

 _I do not own anything relating to either series. Seriously. What a shocker._

 **[PL]**

" _-Yes, that's right, Cyril, we have still yet to receive an official explination by the VPD or Valean Council on the events that transpired last night in our Industrial District."_

" _I've been thinking about it, Lisa, and the only logical conclusion I can come to is some kind of 'off the records' research being carried out on some kind of super weapon? Perhaps last night was just the first time its been tested so close to one of the four Kingdoms? I can imagine keeping that sort of fire power under wraps if the government had anything to do with it."_

" _Speculating will get us nowhere, Cyril, though I don't think your explination is outside the range of possibilities. For those of you just tuning in, thank you for choosing Vale News Network to keep you up to date on the latest, breaking news from around the four Kingdoms, and stay put as we go over what the public has started calling the 'Starfall' and what we know-"_

Ozpin muted the monitor displaying the latest report from the local news before clasping his fingers near the bridge of his nose and leaning on his elbows, a pose he usually adopted when in deep thought.

His Scroll had been going off non-stop since the night prior, which had been a pleasant, boring night until a massive pillar of bright white energy of some sort descended from the heavens and decided to wipe out a warehouse that hadn't had an official use in over five years.

There was absolutely nothing left to denote that a warehouse had even been there, nor the concrete beneath it. The sea had rushed in to claim the large crater as its own, preventing anyone from seeing what lay at the bottom without some form of scuba gear or aquatic Semblance, nor was it announced safe to do so quite yet.

There seemed to be some form of exotic particle radiation present at the 'Starfall' site that was quickly disseminating into the environment, exotic particles that had long since stopped existing on Remnant naturally.

For the first time in what seemed like an eon, Ozpin could feel the natural, ambient Magic that had sprung up in the area as a result of whatever happened. He was expecting a report from a marine biologist on the state of the aquatic wildlife that had been found within the crater within the next few hours to either confirm or deny his hypothesis.

If he was correct, then whatever it was that had caused the bright pillar of energy to descend into Remnant had inadvertently reintroduced Magic to the world of Remnant, something that had been stripped away by the two brothers many hundred thousand years prior. It was like a boost of energy from one Dust shard to another in a chain, if Ozpin had to equate it to something non-Magical that occurs in nature frequently.

Already he could feel a boost to his own reserves of Magic by just standing near the epicenter for close to an hour as he conducted his research, while Qrow had idly commented on feeling like he felt like he had a 'Ruby level sugar high'. Ozpin could only speculate on what that meant in the form of measuring Magical reserves, but he had an inkling that it was a rather large amount.

It was almost as if the pillar of light had somehow been an act of the Gods, which left Ozpin completely in the dark on how it could have come to pass. He was of the mind that the Gods had literally _abandoned_ Remnant, especially considering they said as much. It was why he was reincarnated time and time again.

If one of the two brothers had returned, likely the Elder of the two, then why had he not completed what he promised he would do? Why were they here before Ozpin could summon them back, with his objectives completed and Humanity united?

It was this reasoning that made him question the brothers involvement in what had happened, but still left him of the mind it was somehow an act Divine in nature.

Ozpin was positive of this fact, as no Human or Faunus alive including himself could replicate whatever kind of attack or summoning was used the night prior.

Only one person came relatively close to pulling it off would have been the local anomaly that Ozpin couldn't have predicted prior to his arrival in Vale. He had already displayed the ability to wield 'light' of some sort in the form of hard, physical objects via spears and arrows, so who was to say he couldn't also summon a massive beam of energy to annihilate an empty warehouse for apparently no purpose?

The more Ozpin thought about it, the more foolish it sounded in his head. He was aware that it was a stretch to assume that his fellow coffee enthusiast was the culprit, but there was also little evidence to prove that it _wasn't_.

Just as it was impossible to pull up any footage of Akira while he was present within Ozpin's office, it was also impossible to pull up any footage from the many cameras in the Kingdom of Vale that might have seen what had happened at the warehouse leading up to its annihilation.

What was strange about the missing footage was that the cameras present in the Industrial District were not fried by the pillar of light and remaining functioning, yet they somehow were missing the footage up until ten minutes after the warehouse had disappeared, and thirty minutes of footage missing leading up to it.

That left a window of almost an hour of missing footage, and this missing footage extended from the Industrial District all the way up until just two blocks past Leblanc Deux. The entire area had been scrubbed clean of evidence and it had been so thorough that all backup sites used to store said data had been scrubbed as well.

It was not only the large batch of missing footage that was suspicious, but the coordinated cyber attack on the VPD that occurred around the same time. All dispatched units anywhere near the Industrial District had been rerouted through GPS spoofing, relying on the fact that most of the Police relied heavily on localized positioning services to find the quickest and easiest routes to where they needed to be. Shifting those positions by a few blocks or sometimes up to a mile from where they were supposed to be had led to quite a few cruisers that should have been able to respond immediately finding themselves too late to intercept due to their own habit of driving where their GPS told them to go.

It was one of the largest disruptions to the VPD since its inception, leading to quite a few to call for the resignation of whatever dispatchers were responsible for such bad coordination.

There were quite a few people already working on trying to find the culprit responsible for the missing footage and coordinated cyber attack, though with how cleanly they had picked apart _his_ security footage and systems, Ozpin had little faith in the VPD's investigation.

Ozpin had nothing to go on besides a few coincidences and a hunch, but in all honesty, that's all he really needed to tell him he was on to something.

The Headmaster was drawn from his thoughts by the sound of his Scroll ringing once more, causing him to sigh as he reached for the device once more. This would be his thirteenth phone call in the last two hours, and judging by the face on the screen, one of his longer calls.

Pressing the intercom button on his desk to page Glynda, it only took a moment for her to respond.

" _Yes, Headmaster?"_

She sounded almost as tired as he felt on the inside.

"Would you please brew us a fresh pot of coffee? I have a feeling we will both need at least two more to deal with today."

" _As you wish, sir."_

Glancing back down at his Scroll, which was _still_ ringing, Ozpin bit back the urge to ignore the man entirely and pretend he hadn't noticed the call.

General Ironwood was a hard man to work with, to say the least.

 **[PL]**

Cinder Fall was many things, but she was not a _coward_. It was a mantra she repeated to herself through the night as she paced before the room that contained the Seer Grimm, a subspecies of Grimm that allowed direct communication with her Mistress and Mother of all Grimm, Salem.

It had become abundantly clear to her that _not_ reporting and playing ignorant would not be in her best interest, especially now that a few recordings of the event from a distance have leaked to all four Kingdoms and their news stations. If she didn't report it, then Watts would be the one to bring it to her attention, and that was _not_ something she wanted.

It was best to report it and underplay it now before Watts could set Salem on her trail and catch wind of her would-be target by other means than herself. If someone was going to get some form of benefit for the information, it would be her!

That said, she had little information to provide her Mistress outside of a name, description and job description. There was his prowess in combat and resistance to her Magic to detail, of course, but that was the gist of what Cinder knew, outside of her not wanting to cross his path again in the future.

He had made it clear that his life was never in any danger, with his complete annihilation of the warehouse and all that it had entailed, but his response with violence was only gained when approached with violence.

She had a feeling that bribing him wouldn't have been an option, not with the White Fang involved in her current operations, but perhaps playing ignorant to his thefts of their Dust was a better alternative then having him as their enemy.

Her pacing was interrupted by a knock at her door, causing the scowl on her face to only grow more pronounced. "Who is it?"

"It's Mercury, Emerald still hasn't woke up." Mercury called out from the other side of her door, at least pretending to respect her privacy despite his lecherous ways.

"Go keep an eye on her, report back if she doesn't wake up in the next two hours." Cinder eventually called out, a minute amount of concern eventually piercing the veil her fears had brought along, "Don't let your guard down around the White Fang, Adam still hasn't reported in and they are getting... restless."

"You got it." Mercury answered back easily, and from the sound of his heavier than normal footfalls had turned to do just that.

Cinder sighed heavily once she was sure he was far enough out of range to hear her, a sign of weakness she only let show when she was sure she was alone.

Whatever it was Akira had done to Emerald had left her in what could almost be considered a coma, if not for the REM she had been displaying since she had been put to rest. Cinder could only assume it had been happening the entire time she was unresponsive.

Emerald's Semblance involved controlled the synaptic responses of her opponents minds, making them hallucinate to see whatever it was Emerald wanted them to see. Her falling to influence the black haired Faunus Cinder had foolishly brought to light implied his own Semblance was mental based, but his complete annihilation of the warehouse said otherwise.

Tugging lightly on the black hair cascading down and over her shoulders, Cinder allowed herself to sink into a plush chair nearest to a window facing the Bay of Vale and the edge of the Industrial District.

She couldn't help but stare at the large circular pool of water where one of Roman's old hideouts once stood, her lips pursed in thought and her body stiff despite her posture.

 **[PL]**

If there was one thing Ryuji Sakamoto knew for certain, it was that he absolutely hated sand. With a low growl, he kicked off his shoes and stumbled into the hastily assembled shack on the outskirts of the Golden Grove with slumped shoulders and his head hung low.

The shade afforded him by the roof over his head caused him to sigh in relief as he slipped off the white cloak designed to reflect the suns heat from his shoulders, the difference in temperature from the shack and the outside world immediately apparent.

"Holy shit it's hot today," The blond grumbled to himself as he reached into a small mini-fridge that served as his only way of preserving food and drink for his large jug of water, "No wonder there were only a few roamers out, the rest are holed up for the day."

His patrol had been forced short when one of his squad mates took a gnarly shot to the chest by a small Deathstalker hiding in one of the dunes. The scorpion monster decided to wait until three of the four squad members had passed its location before attacking, soloing out the weakest member of the rag-tag defenders as if it knew who was who.

If it wasn't for Maria Carmella, a retired Huntress from Atlas with a potent healing Semblance, Ryuji was sure poor Josef wouldn't have made it.

Gulping down a bit of water to wash the dryness from his throat, the blond staff wielder found himself once more thanking his lucky stars he had access to the vital liquid despite where he lived.

Feeling his Scroll vibrate three times in his pocket, an indication that he had just received a text message, he fished the device from his pocket and slid it open with one hand while taking another small sip of water.

It was from Sun, who had left to attend Shade Academy just a week prior. Furrowing his brows as he read the title of the message, which was 'End of the World?!', Ryuji found himself clicking the link provided by his blond brother in all but blood and leaned back against his counter when he realized the link took him to a video.

Knowing Sun's odd taste in cinema and conspiracy theories, Ryuji prepared himself for the worst and once more found himself idly sipping at his water, Scroll held aloft with a single hand.

The video started off simple enough, with the droning of a nasally voice droning on about something he called the Grimm Queen and some ancient hieroglyphics from an ancient city depicting a prophecy of some sort.

Ryuji couldn't help but roll his eyes at the stereotypical claims that he had heard Sun regurgitate before during their bandit patrols, but found himself paying close enough attention to glean a few new tidbits of conspiracy he hadn't heard before, specifically at the mention of prophecy.

All in all, the video was hardly interesting enough to warrant the wasted Data, but as the video drew to a close and the nasally voice finally fell silent, a small clip of a city suddenly engulfed in a bright white flash caught his eye and prevented him from snapping his Scroll shut in irritation.

'Wait, _what was that?_ ' Ryuji thumbed the screen of his Scroll and drew the small pin at the bottom of the video to the left to rewind it a bit before allowing it to play once more. Yet again, he bore witness to the strange column of light that seemed to linger before fading, this time taking note of the time stamp in the upper right hand corner of the video and its supposed location.

Vale.

Something about that pillar of light was familiar, and Ryuji found himself clicking on a second link provided by Sun at the end of his first text to reroute his browser to a message board of some sort.

Judging from the disk shaped object near the top of the web page, Ryuji couldn't help but be incredulous of anything he heard, read or saw on the site. Even Remnant had UFO hunters, it seems.

Deciding to scroll through the page regardless, the blond Phantom Thief was rewarded for his efforts with another video of the same event, this time from a different angle and a closer position.

He was forced to spit the water in his mouth out to prevent from choking upon finally realizing why the pillar of light was so familiar.

"Holy shit, that... that's the attack Akira used to kill that Grim Reaper in Mementos!" Ryuji felt his eyes nearly fall from his head due to how wide he had opened them, once more playing the video back from the beginning to be sure of what he saw.

The second view only confirmed what he saw in the first, as did the third video he watched and later the fourth. By the time he had watched the fifth video of the incident available on the page, his Scroll disconnected from the web and started to lag a bit from the low charge.

Stalking away from the small kitchenette area of his shack, he threw his Scroll on the charging pad next to his bed and sat down harshly on the down pad, his mind racing a mile a second.

Ryuji had never claimed to be the brightest. He knew his faults, that was true, but he wasn't stupid by any stretch. He knew in his gut that he had just witnessed Akira going full nuclear on something or someone, and that thought alone quelled whatever feelings of joy that had sprung up at the realization that his _bro,_ his _leader,_ was still alive.

He was alive, but apparently, he was not well.

The blond began to make plans immediately.

 **[PL]**

Daisuke Hikari wouldn't admit it aloud, but he was slightly worried about his traveling troupes next large performance. So far, his marry band of performers had traveled the entirety of Mistral over the last few years, going from village to village to not only help entertain and cheer up the masses of Humans and Faunus alike, but to offer their services of temporary mercenaries and craftsmen to all who would need the work.

It had started off modestly some ten years prior when he retired from his Huntsmen career for something a bit more his speed in his growing age and physical capabilities. Having lost his right arm to a Beringel had seen to that, but he didn't let it slow him down too much. Over his career, Daisuke had learned quite a bit about architecture and carpentry from the many odd jobs he had taken to some far out villages under siege by the Grimm, more often than not using said knowledge to offer whatever assistance he could for those in need.

In retirement, however, he had honed those skills and begun his travels all across the world, learning all he could now that he wasn't at the beck and call of a crooked government official. It was during his travels that he discovered a second passion, which was entertaining and awing an audience with something they had never seen before.

At first it started out with simple tricks with his Semblance, which was limited form of Pyrokinesis that relied on his emotional state, but then soon started delving into more and more complicated and dangerous displays.

He drew the line at swallowing a sword, having sliced his throat with a live blade one too many times to be comfortable with the experience.

After his small shows, he would be approached by crowds of people asking for autographs and tips for their own tricks, but as the months drew on and word started spreading of his performances, soon he would find employees who wanted to perform along side him.

These were his better years and he enjoyed every moment of it.

Despite enjoying the life of travel, however, he knew it wasn't for everyone. His two most recent additions to the Traveling Troupe, as his group was called, struck him as lost souls searching for something, or perhaps someone.

They had been wandering by themselves when the Troupe had first passed them by in between villages located in Mistrals countryside, keeping to themselves and apparently struggling to survive based on their ragged clothing and light traveling packs. The only thing that truly stood out about the two at first was their weaponry.

Daisuke had heard the mumblings of his Troupe as they passed, mainly questioning the choice of weaponry the blue haired male of the two seemed to wield. It was indeed an odd sight to see a Hunter wielding some form of giant paint brush and a rather long Katana, but it wasn't quite the strangest weapon Daisuke had ever seen.

His blond companion had a whip strapped loosely to her side, and from the way she palmed the pommel of her weapon as she passed, she was confident in her ability to use it.

When they arrived at the next town the following evening, the leader of the Troupe spotted the two in the crowd and had called upon the blond to demonstrate one of his more well known magic tricks, sawing someone in half.

It was her beautiful performance and willingness to play along that caused Daisuke to extend the two an invitation to travel and perform with them, especially upon seeing how easily she played the crowd into believing she had really been sawed in half.

It could also have something to do with the older man enjoying the view of her rather generous bust as she laid in his magic prop, but he wouldn't ever admit it if questioned.

Ann Takamaki and Yusuke Kitagawa, both of whom shared names similar to his own in origin, had become valuable members of the entertainers and skilled laborers ever since, even more so when he unlocked their Aura.

He still had a hard time coming to grips with how skilled the two had proven themselves as warriors in various bouts with Grimm and the occasional bandit during their subsequent travels, displaying no small amount of combat experience even prior to having Aura and the life saving abilities that came with it.

They had learned to fight without ever having access to the very energy of their soul, and it showed. They fought hard and they fought _dirty_ , something that still troubled the older man quite a bit though he dared not let it show around the two.

It only took a week after unlocking her Aura for Ann to discover her Semblance, and it was for that very reason that Daisuke now refused to look her in the eyes. Unlike most, her Semblance was constantly active and drained next to no Aura unless being used actively, and it was as deadly as it was unnerving.

Her once pretty teal eyes had become bright pink after her Aura was awakened, and for some reason her pupils became shaped like hearts, but the significance of this change wasn't made apparent until they came across a group of bandits just outside of the Kingdom proper.

As per their contract with the Troupe, Ann and Yusuke quickly moved to the front of the packed crowd of travelers upon hearing Daisuke whistle out a warning code, one they had become familiar with after practice. It wasn't anything the two weren't used to and soon they were present before the group of six that tried to block the path of the entertainers.

Instead of instantly engaging them, however, Ann and Yusuke pleaded for the group to let them pass without a fight, as they did each and every time they came across some form of highwayman.

It was just the way they were, despite Daisuke constantly warning the two that the chances of their words working were slim to none.

As she pleaded, Ann had maintained eye contact with the leader of the Bandits, who had remained quiet despite the laughter of those around him. It took a few seconds for Daisuke to realize something was wrong, but by the time he did, the situation had already devolved into a blood bath.

For once, however, it was not due to the actions of Ann or Yusuke, at least not directly.

With his eyes flashing a bright pink and his pupils slowly constraining until they, too, were heart shaped, the leader of the group of bandits spun on his heel and lunged for the person closest to him with his weapon at the ready.

The second bandit was barely able to get a word out before he found his leaders knife imbedded through his lower jaw and into his brain.

Things went to hell from there and Daisuke was forced to watch as the man quickly dispatched two more of his own comrades before being felled by the last two remaining unscathed before he could round on them.

One of the survivors made the mistake of looking in Ann's direction before he, too, fell to her gaze and disarmed the one bandit that hadn't been killed or charmed yet, literally.

Ann and Yusuke watched in horror as the last bandit standing turned his weapon on his self, all the while staring Ann down with the same shade and shape eyes as her own.

That had been close to four months prior, and since then Ann had taken to wearing a blindfold when not in some form of combat. She had been far more subdued since that moment and her performances had dropped dramatically as a result, leaving Daisuke to pick another blond from his Troupe to replace her as his 'sawing victim'.

Ann had not shown any displeasure in his choice and even asked if she and Yusuke would need to part with the Troupe, but Daisuke was quick to squash their worry when he offered them a better contract than before, this time dealing only in security detail.

It had been some weeks since he had last spoken more than a few words with them prior to that evening, and that was part of what had him on edge. They had approached him of their own volition with questions of their next destinations and had been probing for something all the while. Eventually, their questions had died away and in their place the two made but a single request.

For permission to end their contracts prematurely.

When he gave them a pleading look to reconsider, Yusuke merely looked away while Ann remained oblivious due to her blindfold. Daisuke eventually relented and began to go over the terms of canceling their contracts, but only when they agreed to tell him what drove them to want to walk away.

Once more, only silence graced his ears at first as he awaited their answer, with Ann being the one to eventually break the silence and admit that they had business to tend to in Vale.

That was all she told him, and Yusuke refused to elaborate further.

Daisuke had a feeling it had something to do with the massive beam of light that took out a warehouse in Vale, as that seemed to be all the Troupe had spoken of for the past day or so.

If his hunch was right, then that begged the question...

Just what kind of business did Ann and Yusuke have if it involved international conspiracy and a supposed off the book super weapon located in the southern Kingdom?

Whatever the case may be, Daisuke had wished them nothing but the best and had personally seen the two off on their way back towards Mistral proper to book a flight.

If the two were somehow involved with whatever happened in Vale, perhaps it was for the best they parted ways with the Troupe.


End file.
